Etymologically
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folia

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈfɔ.li.a][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈfɔː.li.a][1]

Forms

folia f (genitive foliae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin folium (“leaf”): the neuter plural ⟨folia⟩ “leaves” was taken as a feminine singular.[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a Late Latin by-form of folium, found in Isidore of Seville's Etymologies (17.9.105), meaning a leaf.[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Beside a leaf of a plant it could mean a sheet or leaf of paper.[1] In Medieval Latin it was also a thin leaf of metal: a document of Sens of 1336 lists two marks of leaves of gilded silver.[6][5]

It is the source of Italian foglia[3] and French feuille,[6] and through the sense of a thin metal leaf German took Folie.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 560–636 – Isidore of Seville uses it for a leaf.[2][5]
  • 1336 – A document of Sens uses it for leaves of gilded silver.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Late Latin) A leaf.[2][4][1]
  2. (Late Latin) A sheet or leaf of paper.[1]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A thin leaf of metal, foil.[6][5]

Usage notes

A different medieval folia was a small measure of wine; the MLW explains it as a metathesis of phiola, and Köbler leaves its origin open.[7][8][5] Fōlia is also the name of a witch in Horace.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  7. ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  8. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill