Etymologically
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diaetarius

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [di.ae̯ˈtaː.ri.ʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [di.eˈtaː.ri.us][1]

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