macis

Forms

macis f (genitive macis or macidis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[2] The NGML derives it from Latin maccis,^[3] the name of a spice in Plautus that the OLD and the TLL take for an invented nonce word,^[4][5] and Lewis & Short note macis as a variant reading in that passage.^[6] Etymonline reports the explanation of the word behind English mace as a scribal error for Latin macir, the name of a red spicy bark from India, which the OED finds unlikely.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In medieval records it names mace, the spice made from the dried outer covering of the nutmeg: a British account of 1207 lists a pound of it.^[1]

Semantic evolution

The word is a trade and medical term of medieval Latin.^[1][3] Medical writers prescribed it in recipes, and the Salernitan collections describe good mace as red, sharp in taste and slightly bitter.^[3][1] It was often believed to be the flower of the nutmeg, a view some medieval writers already rejected.^[1]

It appears in Du Cange's records from France in 1236,^[7] in Poland in 1390^[8] and in the customs accounts of Hermannstadt in 1505.^[9] English took the word from Old French macis in the late 14th century, treating it as a plural and dropping the -s to give mace.^[2]

Timeline

• 1207 – A British account records pro j libra macis “for one pound of mace”.^[1]
• 1236 – A French account lists mace with pepper and grains of paradise.^[7]
• late 14th century – English borrows Old French macis as mace.^[2]
• 1390 – A Pomeranian charter lists mace among goods.^[8]
• 1505 – The accounts of Hermannstadt list half a pound of mace.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) mace, the spice made from the dried aril around the nutmeg.^[1][3][9]

Related words

• maccis
• macir

Usage notes

Plautus’ maccis (also read macis) is the name of an imaginary spice, and the OLD treats it as a separate, invented word.^[4][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT
4. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
8. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
9. ^ a b c Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE