Etymologically
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mulsum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈmʊɫ.sũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈmul.sum][1]

Forms

mulsum n (genitive mulsī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin mulsus (“mixed with honey”), the neuter of that adjective used as a noun with vīnum (“wine”) understood.[2][3] De Vaan lists both the adjective and the noun under mel (“honey”), from Proto-Indo-European *mel-i(-t) (“honey”), cognate with Ancient Greek μέλι (méli, “honey”) and Old Irish mil (“honey”);[4] Lewis & Short and Wiktionary instead take the adjective as the participle of mulceō (“to stroke, soothe”).[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,[4][5] who has someone told to mix the honey-wine in the Persa.[3]

Semantic evolution

It is a drink of wine mixed with honey, oenomel.[2][3] Cicero mentions cold honey-wine in the De oratore,[3] and Serenus Sammonicus uses mulsum acētī for honey vinegar.[3] Quintilian cites the plural as a solecism.[2] Stelten glosses it “sweet wine”.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus, of honey-wine.[3][4][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of cold honey-wine.[3][5]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian calls the plural a solecism.[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Honey-wine, a drink of wine mixed with honey, mead.[2][3][1][6]

Word family

  • mulseus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson