dulcor

Forms

dulcor m (genitive dulcōris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dulcis (“sweet”) + -or.^[1][2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tertullian is its first author, in his work against Marcion.^[5][2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

It belongs to Late and Christian Latin: Jerome uses it in a letter, and the Vulgate has it in Sirach.^[2][5][6] Lewis & Short set it beside its opposite, amāror, “bitterness”.^[5]

In Medieval Latin it meant sweetness of taste, savour, flavour and fragrance,^[7][8] and also a sweet juice or a sweet wine.^[8][9] The Ecbasis captivi has a calf scattering the sweetness of the grape,^[8] and Amarcius says that the world shows sweetness on the skin while the bitterness lies within.^[8] Anselm bids the soul taste the goodness of its redeemer and swallow its healthful sweetness,^[10] and Vinsauf writes of one who was a radiance in the eyes and a sweetness in the ear.^[10] It could also mean delight and, in Hungarian and Polish charters, kindness or goodwill.^[10][11][12]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it in his work against Marcion.^[5][4]
• c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome uses it in a letter.^[2][4]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate has it in Sirach.^[5][6][4]
• mid 11th century – The Ecbasis captivi and Amarcius use it of sweetness.^[8][4]
• 2nd half of the 11th century–1109 – Anselm uses it of the sweetness of the redeemer.^[10][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) Sweetness, sweet taste.^[5][2][3][1]
2. (Medieval Latin) Savour, flavour, fragrance.^[7]
3. (Medieval Latin) A sweet juice; sweet wine.^[8][9]
4. (Medieval Latin, figurative) Sweetness, delight; kindness, goodwill.^[10][11][12]

Word family

• dulcōrō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ a b c d e f Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences
10. ^ a b c d e 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
11. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
12. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl