cophinus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈkɔ.pʰɪ.nʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkɔː.fi.nus]^[1]

Forms

cophinus m (genitive cophinī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κόφινος (kóphinos, “basket”), whose further origin Köbler calls unclear.^[2][1][3][4] Isidore describes it as a vessel of twigs for clearing dung and carrying earth.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Laberius, whom he dates 106–43 BC.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant a large basket, a hamper, as in Columella and Juvenal.^[2][6][7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a basket.^[8] Medieval Latin used it for a box, chest or trunk.^[9] It survives in Italian cofano and Spanish cuévano, and Old French cofin gave English coffin in the early 14th century, first “a chest for valuables”, while Old French cofre gave English coffer.^[1][4]

Timeline

• 106–43 BC – Laberius uses it.^[3]
• 1st century AD – Columella uses it of a basket.^[6][3]
• c. 67–c. 127 AD – Juvenal uses it.^[6][3]
• mid-13th century – English coffer is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A large basket, hamper.^[2]
2. (Medieval Latin) A chest, coffer.^[9]

Related words

• English coffin
• English coffer

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill