concha

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈkɔŋ.kʰa]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkɔŋ.ka]^[1]

Forms

concha f (genitive conchae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κόγχη (kónkhē, “mussel, cockle; shell-like cavity”).^[1][2][3] An archaic spelling conca appears in Cato.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Speakers in Plautus list sea urchins, limpets, oysters and shellfish among their catch.^[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a shellfish, and the shell of a mollusc, as the pinna in its gaping shell in Cicero.^[2] It also meant the pearl oyster and the pearl itself, as in Tibullus, the purple-fish and purple dye, and Triton's trumpet.^[6][1]

It meant things shaped like a shell, especially a vessel for oil, unguents or salt, as in Cato.^[2][1] Cicero has conchas legere, to gather shells.^[6] In medieval Latin it meant a bowl or basin, a dry measure for grain, and an apse.^[7] English conch was borrowed in the early 15th century.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of shellfish.^[2][5]
• 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of vessels for oil.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a mollusc's shell.^[2][5]
• early 15th century – English conch is borrowed.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A shellfish, mollusc; a pearl oyster.^[2][1]
2. A shell, seashell.^[2][1]
3. A pearl; the purple-fish, purple.^[6][1]
4. Triton's trumpet.^[1]
5. A shell-shaped vessel (for oil, salt).^[2][1]
6. (Medieval Latin) A basin; a dry measure; an apse.^[7]

Word family

• conchātus
• concheus
• conchula

Related words

• English conch

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
4. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com