lobus

Forms

lobus m (genitive lobī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek λοβός (lobós, “pod, husk; lobe”).^[2][3][1] Etymonline calls the Greek word of unknown origin,^[4] while Köbler and Wiktionary connect it with Proto-Indo-European *leb- (“to hang loosely”).^[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the cookery book of Apicius (4th century AD), meaning a pod or husk.^[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it meant a pod and also a kind of bean: the Pseudo-Apuleian herbal says the Greeks call certain seed pods by this name, and the Latin Oribasius names green beans “which they call lobi and fasioli”.^[6] The TLL traces Old Lombard words for a pod to it.^[6]

In Medieval and early modern British Latin it was used for a lobe of the liver and for the wattle of a bird.^[7] English took lobe in the early 15th century, first of the liver or lungs, from Medieval Latin lobus.^[4]

Timeline

• 4th century AD – Apicius uses it for a pod or husk.^[2][3]
• end of the 4th century AD – The Pseudo-Apuleian herbal uses it for seed pods.^[2][6][3]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as lobe, of the liver or lungs.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A pod, husk or hull.^[2][5][1]
2. (Late Latin) A kind of bean eaten in the pod.^[6]
3. (Medieval Latin) A lobe, especially of the liver.^[7]
4. (Medieval Latin) The wattle of a bird.^[7]

Related words

• English lobe

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b c 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