lectus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈɫɛk.tʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈlɛk.tus]^[1]

Forms

lectus m (genitive lectī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Proto-Italic *lekto- (“bed”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie down”), perhaps a noun *legʰ-tu- or a participle meaning “lain upon”.^[2][1] Cognate with Ancient Greek λέχος (lékhos, “bed”), Ancient Greek λέκτρον (léktron, “bed”), Old Irish laigid (“lies down”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌲𐍂𐍃 (ligrs, “bed”) and English lie.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus.^[2][4] In Plautus a character tells how he quietly slipped out of bed.^[3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It was a bed or couch, for sleeping and for reclining at meals, as in Cato's beds strung with thongs.^[3] The lectus geniālis in the atrium stood for marriage, and it was also the bier on which the dead were carried.^[3]

In medieval Latin it was a bier, a reliquary, a coffin or tomb.^[5] It survives as Italian letto, French lit and Spanish lecho.^[1] Medieval Latin lectāria, from lectus, gave English litter, first “a bed” and “a portable bed”, about 1300.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has a character slip out of bed.^[3][4]
• 234–149 BC – Cato lists beds strung with thongs.^[3][4]
• c. 1300 – English litter “a bed” is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A bed, couch.^[3]
2. lectus geniālis, the marriage bed.^[3]
3. A bier.^[3]
4. (Medieval Latin) A reliquary; a coffin, tomb.^[5]

Word family

• lectārius
• lectīca
• lectīcula
• lecticulus
• lectisternium
• lectualis
• lectuārius
• lectulus
• lēctum
• lectīcārius

Related words

• English litter

Usage notes

Lēctus, -a, -um “chosen, choice” is a different word, the participle of legō.^[3][7] Döderlein contrasts lectus, a bed made for people, with cubīle, any natural resting place of people or animals.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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 j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper