Etymologically
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corbis

Etymology and origin of the Latin word corbis

History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkɔr.bɪs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkɔr.bis][1]

Forms

corbis m or f (genitive corbis); third declension[1]

Etymology

The origin is undecided.[2][1] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *k(o)rfi- and compares the Balto-Slavic family of Lithuanian kar̃bas (“basket”) and Russian короб (korob, “box, basket”), whose accentuation would point to an aspirated *bʰ.[2] But the root shape would be irregular in Proto-Indo-European, and many scholars take the Balto-Slavic words to be borrowings from Germanic (as in German Korb), itself borrowed from Latin; words for baskets are often loanwords.[2][3] A comparison with Ancient Greek κάρφος (kárphos, “dry twigs”) is very doubtful,[2] and Wiktionary also mentions a possible Semitic source.[1] Ancient grammarians derived it from bent twigs, as if from curvus, or from the ears of grain gathered in it.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus onwards.[2][6] Cato mentions corn baskets among the equipment of a farm.[7][4]

Semantic evolution

It meant a basket, especially one used for harvesting grain or fruit, and also its contents, a basketful.[7] Livy tells how the crop of the Campus Martius was thrown into the Tiber in baskets, and the author of the Spanish War mentions baskets filled with stones.[8][4] Its gender was uncertain: Cicero uses it as a feminine, Columella and Petronius as a masculine.[7][5]

In medieval Latin it was also a measure of grain.[9] Its diminutive corbicula gave French corbeille, and the related corbita, a slow cargo ship, is thought to be the source of English corvette.[1][10]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[2][6]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato lists corn baskets among farm equipment.[7][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero mentions a harvest basket, corbis messoria.[8][6]
  • Middle Ages – It is a measure of grain.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A basket, especially for gathering grain or fruit; a basketful.[7][4]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A measure of grain.[9]

Word family

  • corbicula
  • corbīta
  • corbitor
  • corbula

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
  4. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  9. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  10. ^ Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Corbis.” Etymologically, 10 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/corbis. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on .