curculio

Forms

curculiō m (genitive curculiōnis); third declension^[1] The form gurguliō is also found, in Persius and as a variant in many manuscripts.^[2][3]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[2][1] De Vaan explains it as a noun formed by intensive reduplication of a syllable ⟨kur⟩, with the second /r/ dissimilated to /l/.^[4] Walde and Hofmann connected curvus (“curved”) and a root Proto-Indo-European *ker- (“to curve”), now abandoned, and it is not certain that the weevil was named as a “coiled” insect;^[4] Köbler and Wiktionary still mention *(s)ker- (“to bend, turn”).^[5][1] De Vaan thinks it more likely that it is somehow related to gurguliō (“gullet, throat”).^[4] Wiktionary also allows a substrate origin.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus on,^[4][5] who gave the name to a parasite, the title character of his Curculio; in that play a character jokes that in wheat one would easily find five hundred curculiōnēs for the one he is looking for.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it is the corn weevil, a pest of stored grain discussed by Cato, Varro, Columella and Pliny the Elder.^[3][7] In Persius the form gurguliō is used for the penis.^[3][7] Georges explains the parasite's name as “glutton”, from gurguliō “gullet”.^[7]

British Medieval Latin used it for a weevil or worm and confused it with gurguliō.^[8] It survives in Italian gorgoglione.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus names a parasite Curculio and jokes about weevils in wheat.^[6][5]
• 234–149 BC – Cato mentions the weevil in his book on farming.^[3][9][5]
• 34–62 AD – Persius uses gurguliō for the penis.^[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A corn weevil.^[2][3]
2. (as gurguliō) The penis.^[3][7]
3. (Medieval Latin) A weevil or worm.^[8]

Word family

• curculiunculus

Related words

• gurguliō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
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 e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
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
9. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier