dorsalis

Forms

dorsālis (neuter dorsāle); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1] Medieval spellings include dossalis and, rarely, dorsilis.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin dorsum (“the back”) + -ālis.^[1][4] De Vaan explains dorsum as a compound of dē- (“away from”) and versus² (“turned towards”), originally “turned away”, as the Romans themselves thought.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates its first use to Cassius Felix in AD 447;^[6] he uses it in place of the genitive dorsi, of the spinal marrow when it has been chilled.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It corresponds to the earlier dorsualis “of the back”.^[4][7][8] In medieval Latin dorsalis meant “of the back” and “of the spinal cord”, and also “used for leaning back against”.^[2][3] As a noun, dorsale named the hangings behind seats or on a wall, the dossal, and other hangings and covers;^[2][3] Ekkehard IV writes of a woman furnishing a room with tapestries and a pallium dorsile.^[2][3]

British sources use it for loads carried on the back and for the back of a vestment.^[8] English took dorsal from it, or from Old French, in the late 14th century.^[7]

Timeline

• 447 AD – Cassius Felix writes of the dorsalis medulla, the spinal marrow.^[4][6]
• 1295 – An inventory of St Paul's describes the back (dorsale) of a chasuble of Ralph de Diceto.^[8]
• 1327 – A charter grants two loads of branches a day, carried on the back.^[8]
• late 14th century – English borrows it, or the Old French form, as dorsal.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of the back, dorsal;^[4][2][3] medulla dorsalis, the spinal marrow.^[4][2][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) Used for leaning back against.^[2]
3. (Medieval Latin) Carried on the back.^[8]

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin, as neuter or masculine noun) A hanging behind seats or on a wall, a dossal; a tapestry or cover.^[2][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) The back of a vestment.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d e f 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