mumia

Forms

mūmia f (genitive mūmiae); first declension^[1] Medieval sources also spell it mummia and momia.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Arabic مُومِيَاء (mūmiyāʔ, “embalmed body”),^[1][2][4] from Persian مومیا (mūmiyā, “asphalt”), derived from موم (mūm, “wax”).^[1][5][2][4] Etymonline allows that it may have come by way of Greek.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a medieval word, first recorded in British sources before 1250,^[5] for a medicinal substance taken from the tombs of embalmed bodies.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The medical writers describe it as something found in the tombs of embalmed bodies, where the fluid of the dead mixes with the aloe and myrrh used to preserve them, and compare it to pitch;^[3] Constantine the African says the best kind comes from old tombs and is good for fractures of the head.^[3] It was used as a powder or liquid in prescriptions.^[2] Etymonline explains the name by the old belief that Egyptian mummies were embalmed with asphalt, which medieval medicine valued.^[4]

Later it also meant the embalmed body itself,^[2][1] and in Paracelsian writing a substance or essence.^[2] English mummy came from it in the late 14th century, first for the medicine made from mummies.^[4]

Timeline

• before 1250 – First recorded in British sources.^[5]
• late 14th century – English mummy, for a medicinal substance.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin, medicine) A medicine made from the bituminous substance of embalmed bodies.^[2][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) An embalmed body, a mummy.^[2][1]
3. (New Latin) A substance, essence.^[2]

Related words

• English mummy

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de