Etymologically
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linteum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈlɪn.te.ũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈlin.te.um][1]

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

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