Etymologically
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infula

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈĩː.fʊ.ɫa][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈiɱ.fu.la][1]

Forms

īnfula f (genitive īnfulae); first declension[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.[2][3] Wiktionary suggests it may be related to fīlum (“thread”), with an older form ⟨īnfila⟩;[1] Lewis & Short compared Sanskrit भाल (bhāla, “brow”) and Ancient Greek φάλος (phálos), a comparison no modern source repeats.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero's Verrines have the priestesses of Ceres coming out with their headbands and sacred boughs,[2][4] and Lucretius has the band around Iphigenia's hair.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

It was a band of wool knotted at intervals with ribbons, worn on the head by priests,[2][4] by sacrificial victims, human or animal,[2][4] and by suppliants as a sign of protection, as in Caesar and Livy.[2][4] It was also hung on doorposts at religious ceremonies.[2] In prose it is normally plural.[2] From the sacred band came the sense of a badge of honour or of office: Cicero calls state lands the badges of empire, and the Code of Justinian has the insignia of honours.[4] Seneca uses it of what commands respect.[4] Prudentius uses it for a priest himself.[4] In Church Latin it is the mitre, the lappets hanging from it, and a chasuble.[5][6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of the headbands of priestesses.[2][4][3]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius, of the band of a sacrificial victim.[2][4][3]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar, of suppliants' bands.[2][3]
  • 348/49–c. 413 AD – Prudentius, for a priest.[4][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A woollen headband knotted with ribbons, worn by priests, sacrificial victims and suppliants, or hung on doorways at ceremonies.[2][4][1]
  2. A coloured strip or band.[2][4]
  3. A badge of honour, mark of distinction; the insignia of an office.[4][1]
  4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A mitre; the lappets of a mitre; a chasuble.[5][6][1]

Word family

  • exinfulō
  • infulātus

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ 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