Etymologically
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nitrum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈnɪ.trũː], [ˈnɪt.rũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈniː.trum], [ˈnit.rum][1]

Forms

nitrum n (genitive nitrī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek νίτρον (nítron).[2][3][1][4] The OLD and Köbler take the Greek word to be ultimately of Egyptian origin,[2][4] while Wiktionary gives it a Semitic source.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Cicero:[4] in a letter to him Caelius writes that the censorship is a scouring powder or a soda (cēnsūram lōmentum aut nitrum esse), a means of cleaning things up.[3][5][6]

Semantic evolution

The word named various natural alkalis, above all soda and potash, and probably seldom the modern nitre.[2] Virgil has seeds soaked in it before sowing,[7][6] Vitruvius speaks of the flōs nitrī,[3][5] and Pliny the Elder describes where it is found and calls it sāl nitrum.[3][5] It was used for washing, as in the Vulgate's lāveris tē nitrō (“though you wash yourself with soda”).[3]

In medieval Britain Bede says that it takes its name from the province of Nitria and that it serves both to heal and to wash away dirt, and a later glossary renders it as fuller's clay.[8] It survives in Italian nitro, Spanish nitro and French nitre.[1][6]

Timeline

  • 70–19 BC – Virgil has seeds soaked in it.[7][6][4]
  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius names the flōs nitrī.[3][5][4]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder describes its sources and uses.[3][5][4]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of washing.[3][4]
  • first third of the 8th century AD – Bede derives its name from Nitria.[8][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A name for various natural alkalis, especially soda and potash; native natron.[2][3][5]
  2. (figurative) A cleansing agent, something that scours away faults.[3][5]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Fuller's clay.[8]

Word family

  • nitrāria
  • nitrātus
  • nitreus
  • nitrōsus
  • English nitre

Usage notes

Spūma nitrī was probably a finer form of the substance.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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 j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T. (1890), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: American Book Company
  8. ^ a b c 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