dotalis

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [doːˈtaː.lɪs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [doˈtaː.lis]^[1]

Forms

dōtālis (neuter dōtāle); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from the stem ⟨dōt-⟩ of dōs “dowry” with -ālis.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short cite Plautus' aedēs dōtālēs.^[4] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant forming part of a dowry, of or belonging to a dowry, dotal, as of a house in Plautus and in Cicero.^[2][4][5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it means belonging to a dowry.^[6] Medieval Latin used it of a wedding gift, of the endowment of a church, and of land forming part of an endowment.^[7] It survives as Italian dotale and Spanish dotal.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has aedēs dōtālēs.^[4][3]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.^[5][3]
• 639–709 AD – Aldhelm uses it.^[3][8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of a dowry, given as dowry, dotal.^[2][4]
2. (Medieval Latin) Of a church's endowment.^[7]

Related words

• dōs
• dōtō
• dōnum

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ 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