maculo

Forms

maculō (present infinitive maculāre, perfect active maculāvī, supine maculātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin macula (“spot, stain”) + -ō.^[2][3][1] De Vaan derives macula from Proto-Italic *smatlo-, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *smh₁-tlo- (“wiping”), comparing Ancient Greek σμάω (smáō, “to wipe clean”); he finds a stain as a smearing semantically possible but not compelling.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates macula from Plautus;^[4] the verb's earliest examples in the OLD are Lucretius, of fear of punishment tainting the prizes of life, and a fragment of an unknown comedy, “why do you stain your reputation?”^[2]

Semantic evolution

It means to cover with stains, soil or pollute, as Horace's nightclothes stained by a dream, and to mark with coloured patches, as Valerius Flaccus' webs spotted with purple dye.^[2][3] Lewis & Short note that the sense to stain or dye is only poetic.^[3] Figuratively it means to disgrace or dishonour, and to spoil or taint.^[2][1] Church Latin glosses it to spot, and also to accuse or blame.^[5] English maculate (late 15th century) comes from its participle.^[6]

Timeline

• 96–55 BC – Lucretius of fear tainting life's prizes.^[2][7]
• 65–8 BC – Horace of stained clothes.^[2][7]
• late 15th century – English maculate comes from its participle.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To stain, soil, pollute, defile.^[2][3][1]
2. To mark with spots, variegate; to dye.^[2][3][1]
3. To disgrace, dishonour; to spoil, taint.^[2][1]
4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To accuse, blame.^[5]

Word family

• commaculō
• ēmaculō
• immaculo
• maculatim
• maculātiō

Related words

• immaculātus
• macula
• maculōsus
• English maculate

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b 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 Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de