Etymologically
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montaneus

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Forms

montāneus, montānea, montāneum[1] Also montānius.[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin montānus (“of mountains”),[2][3] which is from mōns (“mountain”).[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest example, in the cartulary of Landévennec (about 1050), uses it as a noun: a man lived on a montaneus called Nin, a mountain.[4]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective it meant “of mountains, mountainous”.[1] In Poland it meant “of a mine”: opus montaneum a mine working and ius montaneum a miners' court.[2] Etymonline traces English mountain to a Vulgar Latin noun ⟨*montanea⟩, the feminine of this adjective, through Old French montaigne.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – The cartulary of Landévennec uses it for a mountain.[4]
  • 1324 – A British source uses the adjective.[1]
  • 1474 – A Polish charter speaks of an opus montaneum at Wieliczka.[2]
  • 1493 – Polish court records mention the ius montaneum of Olkusz.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (Medieval Latin) mountainous, of mountains.[1]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Of a mine, mining.[2]

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) A mountain.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  2. ^ a b c d e Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT