munia

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈmuː.ni.a]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmuː.ni.a]^[1]

Forms

mūnia n pl (genitive mūnium or mūniōrum); variously declined, third declension, second declension^[1] An archaic form is moenia, and Festus, in Paul's epitome, says moenia means duties as well as walls.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Proto-Italic *moinis, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *moy-nós, from *mey- (“to exchange”); mūnus “service” is from the same source.^[1][3] The OLD compares commūnis, immūnis, Sanskrit मयते (máyate, “exchanges”) and English ⟨mean⟩, and the TLL Oscan muiniku (“common”) and Umbrian muneklu (“gift”).^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Naevius, and the OLD cites Plautus.^[5][3] Köbler dates Naevius c. 235–200 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

A plural noun, it meant duties, functions, official or private charges, as in Cicero, Livy and Tacitus.^[3][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant gifts, services, duties, functions.^[7] Medieval Latin used it for moenia, and British Medieval Latin for duties, services, political, military or religious.^[8][9]

Timeline

• c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.^[5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of duties.^[6][5]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it.^[6][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Duties, functions, official charges.^[3][6]

Word family

• mūnifex

Related words

• mūnus
• commūnis
• immūnis
• moenia

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ 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