ode

Forms

ōdē f (genitive ōdēs); first declension^[1] Also written ōda (genitive ōdae).^[2][1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ᾠδή (ōidḗ, “song”).^[1][3][2] Etymonline describes the Greek word as an Attic contraction of ἀοιδή (aoidḗ, “song”), related to ἀείδω (aeídō, “to sing”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is post-classical;^[2][3] Classical Latin said carmen.^[2][3] The commentator Porphyrio uses it of Horace's odes (hac ode), without a date in the sources,^[3][5][6] and Marius Victorinus, in the first half of the 4th century AD, uses it in his work on metre.^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

The word meant a song, especially a lyric poem, and above all an ode of Horace.^[3][6] Sidonius Apollinaris uses it,^[3][6] and a poem in the Latin Anthology transfers it to birdsong: et merulus modulans tam pulchris zinzitat odis (“and the blackbird, singing, trills in such lovely songs”).^[3]

In Medieval Latin it meant a poem in general: Aldhelm, in the preface of his riddles, says he “sang odes in a thousand verses”.^[8] In Poland it is glossed as a song or chant.^[9] The Italian ode goes back to the Late Latin word,^[6] and English took ode in the 1580s from French, which had it from Late Latin.^[4]

Timeline

• first half of the 4th century AD – Marius Victorinus uses it in his work on metre.^[3][7]
• c. 431–486 AD – Sidonius Apollinaris uses it in a letter.^[3][6][7]
• 639–709 AD – Aldhelm speaks of his odae in the preface of his riddles.^[8][7]
• 1580s – English borrows ode from French.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A song, especially a lyric poem, an ode.^[2][3][6]
2. The song of a bird.^[3]
3. (Medieval Latin) A poem.^[8]

Related words

• English ode

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c d e f Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
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
9. ^ Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl