habena

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [haˈbeː.na]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [aˈbɛː.na]^[1]

Forms

habēna f (genitive habēnae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from habeō “to have, hold”, with an ending as in catēna.^[2][3][1] De Vaan traces ⟨habeō⟩ to Proto-Italic *xab-ē- (“has taken, has”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰh₁b- (“to take”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Laevius, and the OLD's earliest citations include Lucretius and Varro.^[5][2] Köbler dates Varro 116–27 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It was a rein, usually in the plural, as in Cicero and Virgil; in figures of speech the reins of control or of freedom, and the reins of government; and generally a strap or thong: a sling, a lash, a binding strap in Celsus.^[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it means rein.^[7] British Medieval Latin used it for a rein and a sling.^[8]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it figuratively.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of reins.^[2][5]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of a sling and a lash.^[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A rein.^[2][7]
2. (figurative) The reins (of control or government).^[2]
3. A strap, thong; a sling; a lash.^[2][6]

Word family

• habēnula

Related words

• habeō
• catēna

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
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