lorum

Forms

lōrum n (genitive lōrī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.^[2][1] It is compared with Ancient Greek εὔληρα (eúlēra, “reins”), Doric αὔληρα (aúlēra), and Old Armenian լար (lar, “cord”).^[2][3][4] Beekes takes the Greek word as Pre-Greek because of its odd alternation of initial vowels, but the Greek /ē/ against Latin /ō/ looks Indo-European, so de Vaan suggests a borrowing from a lost Indo-European language.^[2] Lewis and Short reconstructed *vlōrum.^[5] lōrīca “cuirass” is derived from it, since it was first made of leather, rather than borrowed from Ancient Greek θώραξ (thṓrax).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, whose character holds out his hands to be tied with straps.^[2][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant a leather strap or thong for tying, and in the plural a rawhide whip, as Plautus' and Terence's beatings with thongs, and the reins of a horse.^[3][7] It was also a dog's leash, and in Pliny the Elder a trailing branch of a vine.^[3] Juvenal uses it of leather in general, and Petronius and Apuleius have a masculine lōrus.^[7][3]

In Medieval Latin it remained a thong for binding and flogging.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of tying with straps.^[3][6]
• 190–159 BC – Terence speaks of beating with thongs.^[3][6]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of a vine branch.^[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A leather strap, thong.^[3]
2. (plural) A rawhide whip; the reins.^[3][7]
3. A dog's lead, leash.^[3]
4. A trailing branch of a vine.^[3]

Word family

• diloris
• lōrāmentum
• lōrārius
• lōrātus
• lōreus
• lōrīca
• lōripēs
• triloris
• lōrīcō

References

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