glomus
Forms
glomus n (genitive glomeris); third declension[1]
Etymology
It is related to globus “ball”.[1][2][3] Wiktionary suggests Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to form into a ball”), with unclear morphology, and Köbler Proto-Indo-European *glem- (“lump”).[1][4] The OLD compares Old Irish glomar (“bridle”) and Old English clam (“bond”).[5] Lucretius has ⟨glōmus⟩.[2]
Earliest recorded meaning
The OLD's earliest citation is from Varro, of a ball-shaped mass.[5] Köbler dates Varro 116–27 BC.[4]
Semantic evolution
It meant a ball-shaped mass, especially a ball of yarn or thread, as in Lucretius, Horace and Pliny the Elder, a word Lewis and Short call very rare.[5][2][6] Festus says it was also a sacred cake.[6][5]
British Medieval Latin used it for a round mass and a ball of thread, with Late Latin forms glomus, -ī and Medieval Latin glomer.[7] It survives in Italian ghiomo and gomitolo.[1]
Timeline
- 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of a ball-shaped mass.[5][4]
- 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of a ball of wool.[2][4]
- 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of a ball of yarn.[2][4]
Meanings
Noun
Word family
- glomerarius
- glomerō
- glomerōsus
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ 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