codicillus

Forms

cōdicillus m (genitive cōdicillī); second declension^[1] Seneca has the form cōdicellus.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is a diminutive from Latin cōdex (“tree trunk; book”) + -illus,^[1][3] the OLD giving the older form caudex as its base.^[2] De Vaan derives caudex from the stem of cauda (“tail”), going back to Proto-Italic *kaudek- and Proto-Indo-European *keh₂u-d- (“cleaved, separate”); ⟨cōdex⟩ is the younger form, used of books.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Cato,^[5] who has it in its literal sense: “stack the small logs in a heap for the owner”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From a small log it came, in the plural, to mean a set of writing tablets, as in Cicero's “he was writing your opinions in his tablets”, and a note or letter written on them.^[2][6] Under the empire it is an emperor's rescript or written order, as in Tacitus, and also a petition to the emperor.^[2] It is also a supplement to a will or other posthumous instructions, a codicil;^[2][1] Tacitus has defamatory writings published under the title of codicils.^[2][1]

Church Latin glosses it “appendix to a will, codicil, brief written note”.^[7]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato of small logs.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of writing tablets and letters.^[2][5]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus of imperial rescripts, petitions and codicils.^[2][5]
• early 15th century – Borrowed into English as codicil.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A small log.^[2][1]
2. (plural) Writing tablets; a note, letter.^[2][6][1]
3. An imperial rescript; a petition to the emperor.^[2][1]
4. A codicil to a will.^[2][1][7]

Word family

• cōdicillāris

Related words

• cōdex
• caudex
• English codicil

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com