linum

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈliː.nũː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈliː.num]^[1]

Forms

līnum n (genitive līnī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *līno-, perhaps from a Proto-Indo-European word, but the Oxford Latin Dictionary calls its ultimate origin uncertain.^[2][1][3] It is related to Ancient Greek λίνον (línon, “flax, linen”), Lithuanian lìnas (“flax”) and Old Church Slavonic льнъ (lĭnŭ, “flax”), but these have a short /i/, which is hard to reconcile with the Latin long vowel.^[2][4][1] The Thesaurus thinks the Celtic and Germanic words, such as Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐌽 (lein, “linen”), may be borrowed from Latin.^[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Naevius uses it.^[2] Köbler dates Naevius c. 235–200 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it was the flax plant and linseed, as in Cato and Virgil, thread or cord, a fishing line or net, and linen cloth or a linen garment.^[3][6] Wiktionary adds the wick of a lamp and a sail.^[1] Cicero describes a net of the finest flax.^[7]

In medieval Latin it was a rope and a net, and British writers used it of flax, linseed and linseed oil.^[8][9] It survives as Italian lino, French lin, Spanish lino and Portuguese linho.^[1] Its derivative līnea gave English line, and the inventor of linoleum coined that word from līnum and oleum.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.^[2][5]
• 234–149 BC – Cato speaks of sowing flax.^[3][5]
• 1860 – Frederick Walton coins English linoleum from līnum and oleum.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. Flax, sēmen līnī, linseed.^[3][7]
2. Thread, string, cord; a fishing line.^[3][6]
3. A net for hunting or fishing.^[1][8]
4. Linen; a linen garment.^[3][1]
5. The wick of a lamp; a sail.^[1]
6. (Medieval Latin) Linseed oil.^[9]

Word family

• līnāmentum
• līnārius
• līneus
• līnifer
• linificus
• līniger
• linteus
• līnea

Related words

• līneālis
• līneāmentum
• līneāris
• līneārius
• līneātiō
• līneō
• līneola
• linteāmen
• linteārius
• linteātus
• English linen
• English line
• English linoleum

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b 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
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com