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claustellum

Etymology and origin of the Latin word claustellum

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Petronius
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*kleh₂w-)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kɫau̯sˈtɛl.lũː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [klau̯sˈtɛl.lum][1]

Forms

claustellum n (genitive claustellī); second declension[1] Also spelled clōstellum and clūstellum.[2][3]

Etymology

It is a diminutive of claustrum “bar, bolt, lock”, from claudō (“to shut”).[4][2][3][1] De Vaan traces ⟨claudō⟩ to Proto-Italic *klaud-e/o-, from Proto-Indo-European *kleh₂u-d- (“to shut”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest source is Petronius, in the form clōstellum, where someone looks through it.[2][6] Köbler dates Petronius before 66 AD.[6]

Semantic evolution

The OLD takes it, with some doubt, as a keyhole, and Georges as a small lock or bolt; glossaries equate it with claustra and with Old English words for a lock.[4][3][2] Gildas uses clūstellum of a lock shutting up the rain.[2]

British Medieval Latin also had it as a small cloister.[7] Old French clostel and Italian chiavistello “bolt” come from it.[1]

Timeline

  • before 66 AD – Petronius uses it.[2][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A keyhole; a small lock, bolt.[4][3]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A small cloister.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Claustellum.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/claustellum. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·