Etymologically
Log in

gubernum

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 23 October 2026 at 07:08. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Forms

gubernum n (genitive gubernī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin gubernō (“to steer”).[2][3][1] The TLL reports Leumann's view that it is a back-formation from gubernāculum, which speakers took for a diminutive,[3] and Fohalle's view that it comes from a Greek neuter noun that is nowhere attested.[3] A bilingual glossary renders it with Ancient Greek κυβέρνιον (kubérnion).[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first author is Lucilius, quoted by Nonius: prōrās dēspoliāte et dētondēte guberna, “strip the prows and shear off the steering oars”.[6][3][2] The TLL notes that the old authors have only the plural guberna.[3]

Semantic evolution

It is the steering oar of a ship, an old word for the classical gubernāculum.[2][6] Lucretius uses it twice: among the wreckage that the sea scatters, and for the steering oars that look bent where they enter the water.[3][6]

In Medieval Latin a charter of Pavia uses it for the safekeeping of money deposited with someone,[7] and the statutes of Savona, quoted by Du Cange, for government, the office of those who governed the city, like Italian ⟨governo⟩.[8] The TLL and Wiktionary trace Italian governo to it.[3][1]

Timeline

  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius has the plural guberna, “steering oars”.[3][2][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it twice.[6][3][5]
  • 1233 – A charter of Pavia uses it of money held in safekeeping.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A steering oar, rudder, the helm of a ship.[2][6][9]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Custody, safekeeping.[7]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Government, the office of governor.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c 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 c d e f g h i Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  8. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  9. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.