Etymologically
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gestamen

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɡɛsˈtaː.mɛn][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [d͡ʒesˈtaː.men][1]

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]

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