Etymologically
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gyro

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈɡyː.roː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈd͡ʒiː.ro][1]

Forms

gȳrō (present infinitive gȳrāre, perfect active gȳrāvī, supine gȳrātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin gȳrus (“circle, circular course”),[2][3][4][5] which is borrowed from Ancient Greek γῦρος (gûros, “circle, ring”).[1][6] The TLL calls it a word of declining Latinity, not found in the classical authors.[4] It survives in Italian girare, French girer and Spanish girar.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pliny the Elder (23/24–79 AD) has the participle in orbis gȳrātus, “a rounded circle”;[2][3][5] the TLL treats this passage apart and finds the verb itself only from the Old Latin Bible (Itala) on.[4] Vegetius (c. 400 AD) uses sē gȳrāre of a horse turning in a circle.[2][3][7][5]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it means “turn in a circle” and “go round” a thing (in the Vulgate, going round all the flocks or round a valley),[7][2] and, used intransitively, “turn round, move round”, as of the sun in Ecclesiastes;[2] Ambrose uses it so too.[2][3] Manuscripts often spell it ⟨giro⟩, and curse tablets have ⟨guro⟩.[4]

Timeline

  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder has gȳrātus “rounded”.[2][5]
  • c. 400 AD – Vegetius: a horse that is hard to turn in a circle.[2][7][5]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it for going round flocks and a valley.[2][5]
  • c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it intransitively, “turn round”.[2][3][5]
  • 14th century – British medieval Latin uses it, as Köbler records from Latham.[5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (transitive) To turn round in a circle, wheel round.[7][2][3][1]
  2. (transitive) To go round, encircle (a place or thing).[7][2][1]
  3. (intransitive) To turn round, revolve, move round.[7][2][3][1]

Word family

  • congȳrō
  • regȳrō
  • gȳrātus

Usage notes

British medieval sources have an unrelated noun gyrō, gyrōnis (also girō), the skirt or fold of a garment, from Anglo-Norman.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ 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