defrutum

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈdeː.frʊ.tũː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈdɛː.fru.tum]^[1]

Forms

dēfrutum n (genitive dēfrutī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from dē- and Proto-Italic *fruto- (“boiled”), Proto-Indo-European *bʰru-to- (“boiled”), the participle of the root of ferveō “to boil”.^[2][1][3] Since Latin has ⟨f⟩ here, the regular reflex of *bʰ- at the start of a word, the compound is not very old.^[2] Cognate with Welsh brwd (“warm”), Old Irish bruithe (“boiled”) and Old English broþ (“broth”).^[2][1] Schrijver separates this root *bʰru- “to boil” from *bʰr(e)h₁u- “to seethe”.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus.^[2][4] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant grape juice boiled down into a syrup; according to Varro and Columella it was boiled down to a third, according to Pliny the Elder to a half.^[3][4] Cato and Virgil use it.^[6] The variants dēfritum, with a reduced vowel, and dēfretum are also recorded.^[2][3]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[4][5]
• 234–149 BC – Cato uses it.^[6][5]
• 1st century AD – Columella describes it as must boiled down to a third.^[4][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Grape juice boiled down into a syrup.^[2][3]

Word family

• dēfrutārius
• dēfrutō

Related words

• fermentum
• ferveō
• English broth

References

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