gagates

Forms

gagātēs m (genitive gagātae); first declension^[1] Georges and the TLL also give a third-declension genitive gagātis, the form Caelius Aurelianus and Vegetius use.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek γαγάτης (gagátēs, “jet”),^[4][5][1] which, according to Pliny, took its name from a town and river in Lycia;^[3][6][7] Wiktionary compares the Lycian places Γάγαι (Gágai) and calls the word ultimately Anatolian, possibly Pre-Greek.^[1] Isidore of Seville gave another account: the stone was first found in Sicily, washed out by a river Gagates, which gave it its name.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pliny the Elder (23/24–79)^[6] is the first to use it, with lapis, for a black stone, a variety of lignite, perhaps jet.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

Apuleius, Caelius Aurelianus and Vegetius' veterinary manual use it too.^[2] Isidore describes it as black, smooth and light, burning when brought near fire; burnt, it drove off snakes, revealed those possessed by demons and tested virginity.^[8]

Bede says that Britain produces much of it,^[9] and medieval writers knew it as a stone that attracts chaff and straw.^[10][9] English jet (mid-14th century) comes from it through Anglo-French geet and Old French jaiet.^[7]

Timeline

• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder names the gagates lapis.^[4][2][6]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it.^[2][6]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville describes the stone and its powers.^[8][6]
• early 8th century – Bede says that Britain produces it.^[9][6]
• mid-14th century – English has jet, from Old French jaiet.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (with lapis) A black stone, a kind of lignite, probably jet.^[4][5][2]

Related words

• English jet

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
9. ^ a b c 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
10. ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften