Etymologically
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concha

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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

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