collare

Forms

collāre n (genitive collāris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin collāris (“of the neck”), its neuter used as a noun,^[2][3] the adjective being formed from collum (“neck”);^[3][4] de Vaan lists collāre among the derivatives of collus (“neck”), the older form of collum.^[5] That noun goes back to Proto-Indo-European *kʷol(H)s/no- (“neck”) and is cognate with Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌻𐍃 (hals, “neck”) and Old High German hals.^[5] De Vaan suggests that the word for “neck” may come from one for “wheel”, from the root *kʷel(H)- (“to turn”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Plautus' Captivi,^[5][6] of a collar put on a slave to keep him from running away.^[6][3]

Semantic evolution

In Latin it was a band or chain for the neck: a slave's iron collar, and a collar for dogs.^[3][6][7] Varro describes such dog collars as a belt round the neck, which he calls melium, worn so that wild beasts would not wound the dogs.^[8] The nominative singular collāre is first found in Apicius; the masculine collāris also occurs.^[7][2]

Medieval Latin used it, with spellings such as collarium and colerium, for an ornamental necklace, a gorget, the collar of a garment, and a horse-collar or dog-collar.^[9] The Romance words for “collar”, such as Italian collare, Old French coler and Spanish collar, continue it.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a slave's collar in the Captivi.^[6][10]
• c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius uses it of a collar for a runaway.^[3][10]
• 116–27 BC – Varro describes collars put on dogs against wild beasts.^[7][6][10]
• 4th century AD – Apicius has the nominative singular collāre.^[7][10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A collar or neckband, especially an iron collar for a slave.^[2][6]
2. A dog's collar.^[3][6]
3. (Medieval Latin) A necklace worn as an ornament.^[9]
4. (Medieval Latin) A gorget.^[9]
5. (Medieval Latin) The collar of a garment.^[9]
6. (Medieval Latin) A horse-collar or dog-collar.^[9]

Related words

• English collar

Usage notes

Besides the neuter collāre, a masculine collāris is recorded;^[2] Priscian reports a form collārium.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
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. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d 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 d e f g Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de