Etymologically
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lectus

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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
  • 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