corolla

Forms

corolla f (genitive corollae); first declension^[1][2] Georges marks the o long, corōlla; the OLD, Lewis and Short and Conte have it short.^[3][1][2][4]

Etymology

It is from Latin corōna (“garland, crown”) + -la, a diminutive.^[1][5][6] The epitome of Festus by Paul the Deacon already explains it as a diminutive of corōna.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest instance is a fragment of Ennius in which soft men go to plait a garland for Venus, veneriam corollam.^[5][3][4]

Semantic evolution

It meant a small garland of flowers or leaves, but the TLL notes that its diminutive force was mostly lost.^[5] Garlands were worn at revels and banquets and offered to the gods: Plautus speaks of lavish garlands and of walking drunk with a garland on, Catullus of a house hung with flowery garlands, and Propertius of garlands taken off the brow.^[5] Paul's epitome of Festus says that a bride carried under her cloak a garland of flowers, verbena and herbs she had gathered herself,^[5] and Pliny the Elder mentions a woman selling garlands in Egypt.^[5][3] Isidore reports that Lucilius used it, as Homer used Ancient Greek στεφάνη (stephánē), for a mark of victory,^[5] and Varro of a prize for actors.^[5] Lewis and Short call it mostly poetic.^[2]

Medieval writers used it for a little crown,^[7][8] and Alexander Neckam perhaps for a caul or hair-net.^[8] The TLL notes a dialectal Italian corolla.^[5]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of a garland for Venus.^[5][6]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of garlands at revels.^[5][6]
• 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus uses it of flowery garlands hung on a house.^[5][6]
• 57/46–12 BC – Propertius uses it of garlands worn at feasts.^[5][6]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder mentions a woman selling garlands.^[5][3][6]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of garlands of roses.^[5][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A small wreath or garland, usually of flowers, worn at feasts or offered to the gods.^[1][2][5]
2. A garland as a mark of victory or as a prize.^[5]
3. (Medieval Latin) A little crown.^[7][8]
4. (Medieval Latin) Perhaps a caul or hair-net.^[8]

Word family

• corōllāria
• corōllārium

Related words

• corōna

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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ a b c d 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