corollarium

Forms

corōllārium n (genitive corōllāriī or corōllārī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin corōlla (“small garland”) + -ārium.^[2][1][3] That noun is a diminutive of corōna (“crown, garland”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it first in Cicero,^[5] meaning a gratuity: he describes a man at a dinner who, like an entertaining performer unwilling to leave without his tip, had the decorations stripped from the silver.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

Pliny the Elder explains that the name was first given to garlands made of thin gilded or silvered bronze, given as rewards,^[2][3] and Georges notes that money or other valuables later took their place.^[3] Varro defines it as something added beyond what is owed,^[2][6] and Phaedrus, Seneca and Petronius use it of a gift or extra payment.^[6][3] Gellius uses it of a small garland.^[3]

In later philosophical writing, as in Boethius, it became a corollary, a further conclusion drawn from what has been proved.^[6][3] Medieval writers in Britain use it both of a gratuity and, in geometry and logic, of a corollary, often spelled corelarium or correlarium.^[8] English borrowed the logical sense in the late 14th century.^[4]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro defines it as something added beyond what is owed.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a tip.^[6][5]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder explains it as a garland of gilded or silvered metal.^[2][5]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as corollary.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A garland of gilded or silvered metal, often given as a reward.^[2][3]
2. An additional or unrequested payment, a gratuity, tip, present.^[2][6]
3. (Late Latin, philosophy) A corollary, a further conclusion.^[6][3][8]

Related words

• corōlla
• corōna
• corōnārius
• corōnō
• English corollary

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b 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