gestamen

Forms

gestāmen n (genitive gestāminis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin gestō (“to carry, wear”) + -men,^[2][1] a verb formed from gerō (“to carry”).^[3] De Vaan traces that verb to Proto-Italic *ges-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂ǵ-es- (“to carry”), connecting it with the root of agō, a derivation that has been widely accepted since the laryngeal theory.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found first in Virgil,^[3] who writes of a shield, magnī gestāmen Abantis, “once borne by great Abas”,^[2][5][6] and hoc Priamī gestāmen erat, “this was what Priam wore”.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It is a poetic and post-Augustan word^[5] for anything worn or carried: arms and ornaments,^[2][5] pearls in Pliny the Elder,^[7] and ornaments of the table in Statius.^[2] It is also a load or burden: Seneca writes that Aeneas, as a child, had been a light and safe burden for Anchises,^[2][6] and Apuleius uses it of a donkey's load.^[7] In the other direction it is a means of carrying, a conveyance: Tacitus has gestāmine sellae, “in a sedan chair”,^[6][7] and Valerius Flaccus a pole that carries someone.^[2] Medieval Latin used it for a suit of clothes,^[8] a weapon or club, and the action of carrying.^[9]

Timeline

• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of a shield and of what Priam wore.^[2][5][3]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of a burden.^[2][3]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of pearls.^[7][3]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of a sedan chair.^[6][7][3]
• Medieval Latin – It means a suit of clothes.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. Something worn or carried on the body, such as arms or an ornament.^[2][5]
2. An ornament (of a thing).^[2]
3. A load, burden.^[2][7]
4. A means of carrying; a conveyance, a litter.^[2][7]
5. (Medieval Latin) A suit of clothes; a weapon, club.^[8][9]

Related words

• gestō
• gerō
• gestātiō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ 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 f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
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 d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ 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