Etymologically
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laurus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɫau̯.rʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈlaːu̯.rus][1]

Forms

laurus f (genitive laurī); second declension[1]

Etymology

Its origin is unknown, and the TLL says it is surely a foreign word.[2][3] Köbler takes it as a borrowing from an unknown Aegean or Anatolian language, and Wiktionary and Etymonline relate it to Ancient Greek δάφνη (dáphnē, “laurel”), probably from such a source.[4][1][5] Wiktionary names an Old Latin form ⟨dacrus⟩.[1] The DÉRom reconstructs Proto-Romance ⟨*/ˈlaur-u/⟩.[6] Fourth-declension forms such as ⟨laurūs⟩ and ⟨laurū⟩ are frequent.[2][7] Isidore and Servius derived it from laus “praise”, since victors were crowned with it.[8][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of the laurel tree.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant the laurel or bay tree, as in Plautus, Virgil and Horace, and in Celsus its leaves used in medicine.[2][9] A sprig of laurel was used in rites, in Virgil, as a festive decoration, in Tacitus, and as the sign of victory and triumph, as in Cicero, and was the emblem of Apollo and of poets, in Ovid.[2] In Martial it meant a victory, a triumph.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant the laurel or bay tree.[10] British Medieval Latin used its leaves as medicine and as a symbol of victory.[11] It survives in Italian lauro and alloro, French laurier and Portuguese louro, and Old French laurier gave English laurel in the mid-14th century.[1][6][5]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of the laurel tree.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a triumph.[2][4]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of Apollo's emblem.[2][4]
  • mid-14th century – English laurel is recorded.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The laurel, bay tree; its leaves.[2]
  2. A laurel sprig, in rites, as decoration, for triumphs, as Apollo's emblem.[2]
  3. A victory, triumph.[2]

Word family

  • laurāgō
  • laurētum
  • laureus
  • lauricomus
  • laurifer
  • lauriger
  • laurīnus
  • lauripotēns

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
  7. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  9. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  10. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  11. ^ 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