marinarius

Forms

marīnārius m (genitive marīnāriī); second declension; also adjective marīnārius, marīnāria, marīnārium^[1][2] Niermeyer also gives the spelling marinerius.^[3]

Etymology

It is from Latin marinus (“of the sea”), with the suffix -ārius.^[3][1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler and Du Cange first find it in the acts of a council held at Rome under Pope Nicholas II in 1059,^[1][4] as a noun meaning a sailor.^[3]

Semantic evolution

As a noun it named a seaman or mariner, and it appears beside privateers and moneyers in the Usages of Barcelona.^[4][2] A Venetian commercial document of 1177 uses it for the crew a ship had to be furnished with.^[2] Niermeyer also records the sense “passenger”.^[3] As an adjective it meant maritime, done at sea, as in negotia marinaria, sea trade.^[2][5] British sources use it for the ferryman and for the crews of warships.^[5]

Through Anglo-French and Old French marinier it is the source of English mariner, recorded from the mid-13th century and long more common than sailor.^[6]

Timeline

• 1059 – A council at Rome under Nicholas II uses it for sailors.^[4][1]
• 1177 – A Venetian commercial document speaks of a ship well fitted out with sailors.^[2]
• 1188 – It appears in a British record of a licence to settle a duel.^[5]
• mid-13th century – English borrows Anglo-French mariner.^[6]
• 1496 – A Polish chapter-court record mentions a ship leaving with sailors and French pirates.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Medieval Latin) Maritime, of the sea.^[2][5][1]

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) A sailor, mariner, seaman.^[3][2][5][4]
2. (Medieval Latin) A passenger on a ship.^[3]

Related words

• marinus
• mare
• English mariner

References

1. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT
3. ^ a b c d e f Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
4. ^ a b c d du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
5. ^ a b c d e 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
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl