linteum

Forms

linteum n (genitive linteī); second declension^[1] The Appendix Probi censures the spelling lintium.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is the neuter of the adjective linteus (“of linen”), used as a noun.^[4][1] De Vaan notes that ⟨linteus⟩, beside līnum (“flax, linen”), points to an unattested noun ⟨*linto-⟩ “linen”; the variation between ⟨*līno-⟩ and ⟨*linto-⟩, and ⟨*lino-⟩ in other languages, makes a common Indo-European form impossible to reconstruct.^[5] Compare Ancient Greek λίνον (línon, “linen”) and Lithuanian lìnas (“flax”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Plautus,^[6] whose Mostellaria has “take a towel and wipe your hands”.^[4][7]

Semantic evolution

It is a piece of linen cloth, as Cato's linen through which juice is squeezed.^[4] It was used of many things made of linen: a sail, as in Catullus' boat that could fly with oars or with sail; a towel or napkin; and a curtain or awning, as Lucretius' theatre awnings.^[4][7]

In medieval texts it is a shroud or a tunic.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a towel.^[4][6]
• 234–149 BC – Cato of a linen cloth.^[4][6]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius of awnings.^[4][6]
• 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus of a sail.^[4][6]
• Middle Ages – A shroud.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A linen cloth.^[4][7][1]
2. A sail; a towel, napkin; a curtain, awning; a bedsheet.^[4][7][1]
3. (Medieval Latin) A shroud; a tunic.^[8]

Word family

• linteāmen
• linteārius
• linteātus
• linteō
• linteolum

Related words

• linteus
• līnum

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Appendix Probi, a late antique list of correct and censured Latin word forms ("calida non calda"); ed. H. Keil, Grammatici Latini IV, Leipzig 1864, 197–199.
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill