deauro

Forms

deaurō (present infinitive deaurāre, perfect active deaurāvī, supine deaurātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dē- + aurō (“to gild”), the latter a verb based on aurum (“gold”).^[1] The TLL derives it from dē and the noun.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis and Short cite an inscription of the year 162 AD that mentions a gilded statue, signum deauratum; the word is late, taking the place of inaurō.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Christian writers used it from Tertullian on,^[2] and the Vulgate has it of gilded columns and garments.^[3] Cassiodorus explains that something is called gilded when a layer of gold is glued onto another material.^[2]

Medieval texts used it of gilded reliquaries, of cloth worked with gold, and in alchemy;^[4] figuratively it meant to glorify, adorn or crown, and also to gloss over or embellish.^[4] It lives on in French and Spanish dorar/dorer, Italian dorare and Portuguese dourar.^[1]

Timeline

• 162 AD – An inscription mentions a gilded statue.^[3]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it in De idololatria.^[2][5]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of gilded columns.^[3][5]
• c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus explains what gilding means.^[2][5]
• c. 800 – A German treasure inventory lists silver caskets, some made and some gilded.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To gild, cover with gold.^[3][2][6]
2. (Medieval Latin) Of garments: to work with gold thread.^[4]
3. (Medieval Latin, figurative) To glorify, adorn, crown.^[4]
4. (Medieval Latin, figurative) To gloss over, embellish.^[4]

Word family

• deaurator

Related words

• aurum
• inaurō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson