fimbriae

Forms

fimbriae f pl (genitive fimbriārum); first declension^[1] The singular fimbria appears in Late Latin, as in the Vulgate.^[2]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[3][1] It is perhaps from Latin fibra (“fibre”), in a specialised meaning, but de Vaan notes that the nasal is unexplained and that the irregular alternation may point to a loanword.^[4] Walde and Hofmann assumed a different etymon meaning “falling off” or “spraying”, which de Vaan finds semantically unwarranted.^[4] Wiktionary suggests a root shared with ⟨fibra⟩ and fīlum (“thread”);^[1] de Vaan doubts that ⟨fibra⟩ is related to ⟨fīlum⟩, which is now reconstructed as Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰiH-lo-.^[4]

Ancient grammarians connected it with an old word ⟨fibrum⟩ “edge”: Varro says that from it come the fringes of cloaks and the lobe of the liver called ⟨fibra⟩.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Varro is the first to use it, in the De lingua Latina, of the fringes on soldiers' cloaks.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The word meant a fringe on the border of a cloth or garment.^[3] Celsus counts it a bad sign in a fever when the patient picks at the fringes of his clothes,^[2] and Petronius describes a napkin with fringes hanging on both sides.^[2] Cicero used it of the curled ends of hair,^[3][2] and Pliny the Elder of the finest branching of the veins.^[3]

The singular fimbria, a border or hem, is Late Latin: the Vulgate uses it of the hem of a garment.^[2] In Gregory of Tours it is a pall laid over a saint's tomb.^[5] English fringe goes back to it through Old French and a Vulgar Latin form with the /r/ moved forward.^[6]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of the fringes of cloaks.^[2][7]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the curled ends of hair.^[3][7]
• 14–37 AD – Celsus writes of a fever patient picking at the fringes of his clothes.^[2][7]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder applies it to the finest veins.^[3][7]
• before 66 AD – Petronius describes a fringed napkin.^[2][7]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses the singular fimbria of the hem of a garment.^[2][7]
• 538/539–594 AD – Gregory of Tours uses it of the pall over a saint's tomb.^[5][7]
• early 14th century – English fringe is recorded, from Old French.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fringe on the border of a cloth or garment.^[3][2]
2. A fringe of curled hair.^[3]
3. The finest branches of the veins, the capillaries.^[3]
4. (Late Latin, singular) A border, hem.^[2]
5. (Medieval Latin) A pall covering a saint's tomb.^[5]

Related words

• fibra
• English fringe

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de