Etymologically
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creta

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Forms

crēta f (genitive crētae); first declension[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.[2][3] It was once explained as ⟨terra crēta⟩ “sifted earth”, from cernō, which de Vaan finds phonetically possible but semantically weak.[4] Lewis and Short and Köbler take it from Crēta “Crete”, as “Cretan earth”.[4][5][6] De Vaan prefers Pedersen's comparison with Old Irish cré (“clay”) and Welsh pridd (“mud, clay”), from a stem *kʷreh₁-i-et-, of unknown root.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus,[4] who mentions chalk used to clean clothes.[5] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It was a fine, usually white clay, clayey soil, and clay or chalk used for bricks and pottery, for whitening, for cleaning clothes, as a cosmetic and for sealing.[2][5][7] In the circus the chalk line marked the finish of a race.[2]

In medieval British Latin it was chalk, a piece of chalk for writing, gypsum and marl.[8] It survives in Italian creta and Spanish greda, and French craie gave English crayon in the 1640s.[1][3] It was borrowed into Germanic, giving German Kreide.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus mentions chalk for cleaning clothes.[5][6]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of raw clay mixed with lime.[2][6]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of the finish line in the circus.[2][6]
  • 1640s – English crayon is recorded, from French craie.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Fine white clay; clayey soil.[2]
  2. chalk; potter's clay.[2][1]
  3. The chalk line at the finish of a race.[2]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A piece of chalk; gypsum; marl.[8]

Word family

  • crētāceus
  • crētārius
  • crētātus
  • crēteus
  • crētifodīna
  • crētōsus
  • crētula
  • crētulentum
  • incrētō
  • English crayon
  • English cretaceous

Usage notes

The proper noun Crēta, a loan from Greek, is the island of Crete.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  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