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locellus

Etymology and origin of the Latin word locellus

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Caesar
Ultimate origin
Latin (locus)

Forms

locellus m (genitive locellī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is a diminutive of locus “place” or loculus, with the suffix ⟨-ellus⟩.[2][3][1] De Vaan finds the origin of ⟨locus⟩, Old Latin ⟨stlocus⟩, unclear.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest source is Caesar, quoted by Charisius.[5][6][3] Köbler dates Caesar c. 50 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It was a small box, casket, a compartment in a chest, as in Caesar, Valerius Maximus and Martial.[2][7][6] In later Latin it meant a sarcophagus, the source of Spanish lucillo and Old Portuguese lucelo.[3]

Medieval Latin used it for a small place, a small plot, a small estate.[8] British Medieval Latin also used it of a monastery and of a space for writing.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it.[6][5]
  • 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses it.[6][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A small box, casket; a compartment.[2][7]
  2. (Late Latin) A sarcophagus.[3]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A small place, plot or estate.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d 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. ^ 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
Cite this entry

“Locellus.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/locellus. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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