lotus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈɫoː.tʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈlɔː.tus]^[1]

Forms

lōtus m (genitive lōtī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a variant of ⟨lōtos⟩, borrowed from Ancient Greek λωτός (lōtós, “lotus”), a Greek word of unknown further origin.^[1][2][3][4] The OLD treats it as feminine, masculine in Martial.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Cicero, of the nettle tree.^[2] Köbler's first source is Virgil; he dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant the fabled plant whose fruit brings forgetfulness, often identified with the jujube, as in the Culex and Propertius.^[2] In Cicero, Virgil and Pliny the Elder it meant the nettle tree, Celtis australis, and in Ovid and Martial a pipe made of its wood.^[2][5] In Virgil and Pliny it meant various trefoils, and in Pliny a water lily with edible fruit, and lōtos Indica the clove tree.^[2]

It was borrowed into Italian as loto, and English lotus came in the 1540s for various plants, of the Egyptian white lotus from the 1580s.^[1][4]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the nettle tree.^[2][3]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of trefoils.^[2][3]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of a water lily.^[2][3]
• 1540s – English lotus is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The fabled lotus; the jujube.^[2]
2. The nettle tree; a pipe of its wood.^[2]
3. A trefoil.^[2]
4. A water lily.^[2]

Word family

• lōtaster

Related words

• English lotus

Usage notes

A different noun lōtus, -ūs, from lavō, means a washing, bathing, as in Celsus.^[6][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
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. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press