mammalis

Forms

mammālis (neuter mammāle); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin mamma (“breast”) + -ālis.^[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in the herbal of Pseudo-Apuleius, of the late 4th century,^[4] where herba mammālis is a plant good for diseases of the breasts.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Its only ancient sense was “of or for the breasts”.^[2][1] Georges identifies the herba mammālis with the ground pine (chamaepitys).^[3] In 1758 Linnaeus took the neuter plural Mammālia as the name of the class of animals that suckle their young, the source of English mammal.^[5]

Timeline

• late 4th century – Pseudo-Apuleius names a herba mammālis.^[4][2]
• 1758 – Linnaeus coins Mammālia for the class of mammals.^[5]
• 1826 – English forms mammal from it.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or for the breasts.^[2][1][3]

Related words

• mammula
• English mammal

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com