Etymology and origin of the Latin word corporale
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 915 testament of Riculf, bishop of Elne More words from the 10th century
- Ultimate origin
- Latin corporālis
Etymology tree
From the same root
Forms
corporāle n (genitive corporālis); third declension[1][2] Niermeyer also gives a masculine corporalis.[3] Gaffiot heads it as a masculine.[4]
Etymology
It is from Latin corporālis (“of the body”) used as a noun.[1][3][4] The cloth was so called because the body of Christ, the consecrated host, was laid on it.[5][6]
Earliest recorded meaning
Gaffiot cites it from the letters of Gregory the Great.[4] The earliest dated record in these sources is the testament of Riculf, bishop of Elne, who left four corporales in 915.[7]
Semantic evolution
It was a term of the liturgy: the linen cloth, usually stiffened, spread on the altar under the chalice and the host during mass.[6][8][3] Medieval synods required such cloths to be kept clean and white.[9]
Timeline
- 915 – Riculf, bishop of Elne, leaves four corporales in his testament.[7]
- 1320 – A Polish synod orders that the corporalia always be clean and white.[9]
Meanings
Noun
- (Ecclesiastical Latin) A corporal, the linen cloth on which the chalice and the host are placed at mass.[6][3][2][8]
References
- ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
- ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
- ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences
- ^ a b c Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
- ^ a b Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis Cataloniae (1960–; online ed. 2025), Barcelona: CSIC / Institució Milà i Fontanals, gmlc.imf.csic.es
- ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
- ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
Borrowed into
- English corporal
Cite this entry
“Corporale.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/corporale. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.
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