frigidarium

Forms

frīgidārium n (genitive frīgidāriī or frīgidārī); second declension^[1] A syncopated form frigdārium also occurs.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin frīgidārius, used as a noun in the neuter,^[2] from frīgidus (“cold”).^[2][4] The adjective goes back to frīgus (“cold”), which de Vaan derives from Proto-Italic *srīgos and Proto-Indo-European *sriHǵ-o/es- (“frost, bitter cold”), with the cognate Ancient Greek ῥῖγος (rhîgos, “cold, frost”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lucilius, whom Köbler dates c. 180–102 BC, speaks of salting moray eels and taking the goods to the cold stores.^[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it named a cold store for food, as in Lucilius, and the cooling room of a bath, as in Vitruvius, who places it next to the room for oils.^[2][3] Glossaries render it with Greek words for a cooling vessel,^[6][4] and Old High German glosses with ⟨sulza⟩.^[4]

Medieval sources keep the sense of a cool place or larder;^[7][8][9] in Bohemia it also named a cold bath and a cold dish of dressed herbs and vegetables, a mixed salad.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius uses it of a cold store for goods.^[2][4]
• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it for the cooling room of a bath.^[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A cold storeroom for food, a larder.^[2][7][8]
2. The cooling room of a bath.^[2][1]
3. (Medieval Latin) A cold bath.^[8]
4. (Medieval Latin) A cold dish of dressed herbs and vegetables, a salad.^[8]

Related words

• frīgus
• frīgidus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
7. ^ a b 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
8. ^ a b c d e 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
9. ^ Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl