cooperimentum

Forms

cooperīmentum, cooperīmentī n (second declension); also spelled cōperīmentum.^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin cooperiō (“to cover completely”) + -mentum.^[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest example is in Gavius Bassus, quoted by Aulus Gellius, who speaks of the covering of a persona, an actor's mask.^[4][2][5]

Semantic evolution

It remained a word for any covering.^[1] Porphyrio uses it of the lid of an amphora,^[2] Caelius Aurelianus uses it often without a complement,^[2][3] and the Old Latin Bible has it for the coverings of the tabernacle.^[6]

In medieval Latin it meant a cover or a curtain,^[7] and also coverings for altars, a roof or its framework, and protection.^[8] The DMLBS adds roofing, thatch for a stack, the binding of books and the lid of a cup.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 165 AD – Aulus Gellius quotes Gavius Bassus on the covering of a mask.^[4][5]
• after 220 AD – The Old Latin Bible uses it for the coverings of the tabernacle.^[6][5]
• 5th century AD – Caelius Aurelianus uses it often.^[2][5]
• late 11th century – A German treasure inventory lists coverings for altars.^[8]
• 1259 – An English royal order uses it for the roofing of the king's houses at Winchester castle.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A covering, a cover.^[1][4]
2. A lid.^[2][9]
3. (Medieval Latin) A curtain.^[7]
4. (Medieval Latin) A roof or roofing; thatch.^[8][9]
5. (Medieval Latin) The binding of a book.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ a b c Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b c d e Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press