intestinum

Forms

intestīnum n (genitive intestīnī); second declension^[1] Varro has it as a masculine in the Menippean satires, and Petronius as a feminine.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin intestīnus (“internal”), its neuter used as a noun.^[2][4] De Vaan notes that the noun is found earlier (Plautus) than the adjective (Varro), and that the two senses point to an adjective first meaning “internal”.^[5] He reconstructs Proto-Italic *n̥ter-sto- (“internal”): following Leumann, a compound of inter (“between”) with the root of stō (“to stand”), with /rst/ reduced to /st/;^[5] Walde and Hofmann's derivation from Proto-Indo-European *entos (“inside”) he thinks possible but less likely.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler record it from Plautus.^[5][6] In the Casina a character says his guts have long been rumbling with hunger: mihi ieiunitate iam dudum intestina murmurant.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In the plural it is the intestines or guts, as in Plautus and in Cicero's letters, where he suffers badly from his bowels.^[2][3] In the singular Lucretius uses it for the alimentary canal,^[2][5] Celsus for the small intestine, and Nepos and Scribonius Largus for the rectum.^[3] Medieval medical writers in Britain name the separate parts of the intestine with it, and also use it of animals' offal.^[7] English took it as intestine in the early 15th century, from Old French or directly from Latin.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus, of guts rumbling with hunger.^[2][6]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius, of the alimentary canal.^[2][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero writes of suffering from his bowels.^[3][6]
• 14–37 AD – Celsus, of the small intestine.^[3][6]
• early 15th century – Borrowed into English as intestine.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (singular) The alimentary canal or a part of it, a gut.^[2][3][7]
2. (plural) The intestines, bowels, guts.^[2][1][7]
3. (Medieval Latin) The innards of beasts, offal.^[7]

Related words

• intestīnus
• intus
• inter
• English intestine

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. ^ a b c d e f g Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d 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