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epulum

Etymology and origin of the Latin word epulum

History Permalink
Confidence
Uncertain
First attested
Naevius

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɛ.pʊ.ɫũː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈɛː.pu.lum][1]

Forms

epulum n (genitive epulī); second declension[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.[2][1] Nussbaum proposes Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-lo-, from the root of apiō “to seize”, a banquet as a chance to grab food, which de Vaan calls only a root etymology.[2] He compares Old High German uoba (“festival”), which has a different root vowel.[2] Walde and Hofmann and Ernout and Meillet connected it with ops “work”, which de Vaan rejects, and Lewis and Short suggested a contraction of *edipulum from edō “to eat”.[2][3] Köbler calls it an old word of the sacred language.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Naevius, and Köbler's first source is Ennius.[2][4] Köbler dates Naevius c. 235–200 BC and Ennius 204–169 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant a public feast or banquet, especially one given for a festival or special occasion, as a funeral banquet in Cicero and the epulum Iovis in Livy.[5][6] De Vaan finds no hard evidence that it was a religious or sacrificial meal.[2] The plural was usually supplied by epulae “sumptuous food, banquet”.[5][3] Döderlein says epulae is the general word for a meal, while convīvium is a social meal and daps a religious one.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a funeral banquet.[6][4]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of a public feast.[6][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A public feast, banquet.[5]

Word family

  • epulō

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
Cite this entry

“Epulum.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/epulum. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·