folium

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈfɔ.li.ũː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfɔː.li.um]^[1]

Forms

folium n (genitive foliī or folī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It has often been compared with Ancient Greek φύλλον (phúllon, “leaf”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰolh₃yom (“leaf”) and the root Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- (“to blossom”), which would make the two exact cognates.^[2][1][3][4] Driessen, followed by de Vaan, instead connects it with the root Proto-Indo-European *dʰelh₁- (“to sprout, be green”), which gave Welsh dail (“foliage”), Ancient Greek θάλλω (thállō, “to flourish”), Old Armenian դալար (dalar, “green, fresh”) and Albanian dal (“to come out”).^[2][1] Isidore explains the aromatic ⟨folium⟩ as a leaf that floats without a root off the coasts of India.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of a leaf.^[3] Köbler's first source is Ennius, whom he dates 204–169 BC.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant the leaf of a plant, as in Plautus, and Cicero says of someone that he is moved more easily than a leaf.^[3][7] In Vitruvius it meant a leaf carved in sculpture, and in Apuleius a trifle.^[3] In Ovid the plural meant aromatic leaves, especially of nard, and in Propertius it meant a petal, especially of a rose.^[3] It also meant the palm leaf on which the Sibyl wrote her prophecies.^[7]

Medieval Latin used it for a sheet of papyrus or parchment, and Ecclesiastical Latin for a page.^[8][9] British Medieval Latin used it in plant names and in medicine.^[10] It survives in Italian foglio and, through the plural folia, in Italian foglia, French feuille and Spanish hoja.^[11][4] The ablative foliō gave English folio in the mid-15th century.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a leaf.^[3][6]
• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of a carved leaf.^[3][6]
• 57/46–12 BC – Propertius uses it of a petal.^[3][6]
• mid-15th century – English folio is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A leaf of a plant; a carved leaf.^[3]
2. A trifle.^[3]
3. Aromatic leaves, especially of nard.^[3]
4. A petal.^[3]
5. (Medieval Latin) A sheet of parchment; a page.^[8][9]

Word family

• exfoliō
• folia
• foliatilis
• foliātūra
• foliātus
• trifolium
• aquifolius
• assefolium
• centifolius
• lātifolius
• manifolium
• mīlifolium

Related words

• fulvus
• English folio
• English foliage
• English portfolio

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b 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 c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
10. ^ 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. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom