codex

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈkoː.dɛks]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkɔː.deks]^[1]

Forms

cōdex m (genitive cōdicis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a later form of caudex “tree trunk”, with the rustic change of /au/ to /ō/.^[2][1][3] Caudex is inherited from Proto-Italic *kaud-ek-, probably derived from cauda “tail”.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Georges finds it in Plautus (c. 250–184 BC) for the wooden block to which slaves were chained.^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense, shared with caudex, was a tree trunk or a block of wood, the block to which a slave was chained, and as an insult a blockhead, as in Petronius.^[3][5] It came to mean a writing tablet, a book or notebook, and a register, as in Cicero.^[5][1]

De Vaan notes that codex is the form always used of books.^[2] In late antiquity it was a code of laws, as the Codex Theodosianus and Codex Iustinianus.^[5] English code came from it through Old French, and codex, “manuscript volume”, was borrowed in 1845.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a slave's block.^[3][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a register.^[5][7]
• c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius mentions a will written in two books.^[5][7]
• 528–534 AD – The Code of Justinian is compiled.^[5][7]
• 1845 – English codex is borrowed.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A tree trunk; a block of wood (to which slaves were chained).^[3][1]
2. (insult) A blockhead.^[3]
3. A book, notebook; writing tablets.^[5][1]
4. A register.^[5]
5. (Late Latin) A code of laws.^[5]

Related words

• caudex
• English code
• English codex

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de