mala

mala¹ cheek, jaw

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈmaː.ɫa], [ˈmaː.ɫaː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmaː.la], [ˈmaː.la]^[1]

Forms

māla f (genitive mālae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

The word for “cheek, jaw” is inherited from Proto-Italic *smakslā, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *smḱ-slo/h₂- (“beard, chin”).^[2][1] māxilla is its diminutive.^[2][3] Cognates include Old Irish smech (“chin”), Hittite zamankur (“beard”) and Sanskrit श्मश्रु (śmáśru, “beard”).^[2][3] Lewis & Short derived it from mandō “to chew”.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, and the OLD cites Ennius for the cheeks and Plautus for the jaws.^[2][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC and Ennius 204–169 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Usually in the plural, it meant the lower part of the face, the cheeks, as in Ennius, and the jaws, as in Plautus, and Gaffiot gives the upper jaw in Lucretius, Horace and Virgil.^[3][2][6]

English mala and malar “of the cheek” are from it.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of the jaws.^[3][5]
• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of the cheeks.^[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (usually plural) The cheeks.^[3]
2. The jaws.^[3]

Word family

• māxilla

mala² bag (Medieval Latin)

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈma.ɫa], [ˈma.ɫaː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmaː.la], [ˈmaː.la]^[1]

Forms

mala f (genitive malae); first declension^[1] Also malis.^[7]

Etymology

The Medieval Latin word for “bag” is borrowed from Frankish *malha (“leather bag”), from Proto-Germanic *malhō, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *molko- or a borrowing from Thracian.^[1][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Dudo of Saint-Quentin, about 1020.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a bag, sack.^[7] It is the source of Old French male “wallet, bag”, French malle, and English mail (c. 1200, a travelling bag, later the post).^[1][8]

Timeline

• c. 1020 – Dudo of Saint-Quentin uses it.^[5]
• c. 1200 – English mail “bag” is recorded.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) A bag, sack.^[7]

Related words

• English mail

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com