Etymologically
Log in

nutritura

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word nutritura

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 485–c. 580 AD, Cassiodorus
Ultimate origin
Latin nūtriō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin nutrio
French nourrir
Latin nutritura
French nourriture
From the same root
Latin innutrio ← nutrio
Latin nutritio ← nutrio

Forms

nūtrītūra f (genitive nūtrītūrae); first declension[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin nūtriō (“to suckle, nourish”), with the suffix -ūra.[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short and Jeanneau cite it from Cassiodorus (c. 485–c. 580 AD), meaning a nursing or suckling;[1][4][3] Gaffiot's citation for the act of nourishing is from Peter of Blois's work on Christian friendship.[2]

Semantic evolution

It became a word of medieval charters,[3][5] where it meant feeding and rearing, food and keep,[5][6][7] and especially the upkeep a lord gave to his followers.[8] Du Cange explains it with French nourriture.[7]

Of animals it meant rearing and then what was reared: the young of cattle, a herd or flock.[8][5][6] In English legal records it was also the responsibility for bringing up a minor heir.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses it of nursing.[1][3]
  • 10th century – It appears in charters.[3]
  • 1204 – A charter from England uses it of what is gained by rearing.[5]
  • c. 1230 – A custumal of Waltham speaks of a tenant's herd of pigs in a wood.[5]
  • 1278 – A letter of Edward I of England to Joanna, queen of Castile, thanks her for the upbringing and care of his daughter.[7]
  • 1279 – An English record gives a widow the rearing of the heir.[5]
  • 1354 – A Silesian charter records the sale of a flock of 150 sheep.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Late Latin) Nursing, suckling.[1][4]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Feeding, nourishment, food and keep.[5][6][7]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Upkeep given by a lord to a follower.[8]
  4. (Medieval Latin) The young of cattle; a herd or flock.[8][5][6]
  5. (Medieval Latin, law) Responsibility for rearing a minor; wardship.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  2. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b Jeanneau, Gérard; Woitrain, Jean-Paul; Hassid, Jean-Claude (2017), Dictionnaire latin-français, online ed., prima-elementa.fr
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c d e Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill

Borrowed into

Cite this entry

“Nutritura.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/nutritura. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·