Etymologically
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labium

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɫa.bi.ũː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈlaː.bi.um][1]

Forms

labium n (genitive labiī or labī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *labjo-, beside labrum “lip”.[2] Cognate with Old English lippa (“lip”), Old High German lefs (“lip”) and English lip, from Proto-Germanic *lepjan-.[2][3] De Vaan notes that nouns for “lip” with /b/ are found only in Germanic, that *b is a rare sound in Indo-European, and that a derivation from a root Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang loosely”) is uncertain.[2][1] Greek Ancient Greek λοβός (lobós, “lobe”) is a less certain cognate.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, mostly in the plural labia.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant a lip, and prīmōribus labiīs “with the tips of the lips”, very slightly.[3] Plautus has labiīs ductāre “to lead by the nose”.[3][5] Cato uses it of a flange.[3] It is found as a neuter and as a feminine.[3]

In Christian Latin it came to mean the mouth and speech, a tongue or language, and the rim of a vessel.[6] English labium was borrowed in the 1590s.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of courtesans' lips.[3][4]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of a flange.[3][4]
  • 1590s – English labium is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A lip.[3]
  2. A flange.[3]
  3. (Late Latin) Speech; a language.[6]
  4. (Late Latin) The rim of a vessel.[6]

Word family

  • labeō
  • labia
  • sublabium
  • labiālis
  • labiō
  • labiōsus
  • labeōsus

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com