Etymologically
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molinarius

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [mɔ.liːˈnaː.ri.ʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [mo.liˈnaː.ri.us][1]

Forms

molīnārius m (genitive molīnāriī or molīnārī); second declension[1] Medieval documents spell it in many ways, among them mulinarius, molnarius, munarius and molinerius.[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin molīna (“mill”) + -ārius,[1][3][4] and goes back through molīnus (“of a mill”) to mola (“millstone”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Gregory of Tours, in the 6th century, where it means a miller.[3]

Semantic evolution

An inscription uses the plural for a guild of millers, and the glossaries render it with Greek ὑδραλέτης (hudralétēs, “water-miller”).[4][5] It appears in the Germanic law codes,[3] and Niermeyer records it both as an adjective, of a mill, and as the usual medieval noun for the miller.[2]

In England Ælfric's glossary sets it beside molendinārius, with Old English mylenwyrd.[6] Domesday Book lists a mill with its miller.[6] In the 12th century it is also found as a surname.[6]

Timeline

  • 538/539–594 AD – Gregory of Tours uses it for a miller.[3]
  • 7th century – It appears in the law of the Alamanni.[3]
  • c. 1185 – It is used as a surname in a charter of Henry II.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A miller.[1][5][2][6]
  2. (plural) A guild of millers.[4]

Adjective

  1. (Medieval Latin) Of a mill.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ 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