diaetarius

Forms

diaetārius m (genitive diaetāriī or diaetārī); second declension^[1] The TLL also records the spelling zetarius in Paulus' Sententiae.^[2] Medieval texts write diētārius, zētārius and cētārius.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is from Latin diaeta (“living room, apartment”) + -ārius.^[5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Ulpian, in the Digest, among the servants of a house: gardeners, diaetarii and water-carriers who served only the household.^[5][3]

Semantic evolution

In Roman law the diaetarius was a servant in charge of the rooms of a house, a valet,^[5][6] and on a ship a steward who looked after the cabins.^[5][2] In Late Latin it is also a waiter at table.^[1][7]

Medieval Latin, spelling it dietarius and zetarius, used it for a chamberlain of a palace,^[4] and, linking it with dies “day”, for a day-labourer.^[1][7][4] The MLW also records it for a physician who prescribes diets and for someone who received free daily meals,^[4] and Du Cange for a cleric appointed to say the office on a fixed day.^[8]

Timeline

• before AD 223 – Ulpian names diaetarii among household slaves and on ships.^[5][3]
• first half of the 9th century – Hrabanus Maurus uses zetarius for a palace chamberlain.^[4][3]
• 1098–1112 – It appears in charters.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A slave in charge of the rooms of a house, a valet.^[5][6]
2. A steward in charge of the cabins of a ship.^[5][2]
3. (Late Latin) A waiter at table.^[1][7]
4. (Medieval Latin) A chamberlain.^[4]
5. (Medieval Latin) A day-labourer.^[7][4]
6. (Medieval Latin) A physician who prescribes diets.^[4]

Usage notes

The medieval sense “day-labourer” comes from linking the word with dies “day”, by a false association.^[1] Wiktionary gives diaetarchēs as a synonym; the OLD equates the household sense with diaetarchus.^[1][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre