funiculus

Forms

fūniculus m (genitive fūniculī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin fūnis (“rope, cord”) + -culus, a diminutive.^[2][1][3] De Vaan reconstructs fūnis as Proto-Italic *χwoini- and Proto-Indo-European *gwhoiH-ni- (“rope”), and since its meaning is so close to that of fīlum (“thread”), he suggests it may be an o-grade derivative of the same root.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Cato,^[4][5] who uses it in the De agricultura of a thin cord.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Cicero has it in the De inventione, and Pliny the Elder, Quintilian and Gellius use it;^[7] Quintilian cites it to show that fūnis is masculine.^[3] Pliny reports that some called a kind of old vine shoot left to grow long fūniculī.^[2] The Vulgate uses it of a measuring line, and by extension of an allotted portion, as in fūniculus hērēditātis, the share of an inheritance.^[6][8] Medieval Latin kept the surveyor's cord and the share of an inheritance,^[9][10] and used it of a belt, a tightrope and, figuratively, a bond.^[11] English funicular comes from it through funicle “small cord”.^[12]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of a thin cord.^[4][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it in the De inventione.^[7][5]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of a kind of vine shoot.^[2][5]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of a measuring line and of an allotted share.^[6][5]
• 1660s – English funicle is recorded, the source of funicular.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. A thin rope, a cord.^[2][7]
2. A kind of old vine shoot left to grow long.^[2]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A measuring line; an allotted portion or lot.^[8][6]
4. (Medieval Latin) A surveyor's cord; a share of an inheritance.^[9][10]

Related words

• fūnis
• English funicular

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c 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 d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
11. ^ 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
12. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com