olearius

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ɔ.ɫeˈaː.ri.ʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [o.leˈaː.ri.us]^[1]

Forms

oleārius (feminine oleāria, neuter oleārium); first/second-declension adjective^[1] Also spelled oliārius.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin oleum (“olive oil”) + -ārius, or from olea “olive tree”.^[2][3][1] ⟨oleum⟩ is from Ancient Greek ἔλαιον (élaion, “olive oil”), and ⟨olea⟩ from Ancient Greek ἐλαία (elaía, “olive tree”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest sources are Plautus and Cato, who has cella oleāria “oil store”.^[4][5] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC and Cato 234–149 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective it meant of or connected with olive oil, as in Cato's cella oleāria and Cicero, and of olives; its neuter was an oil jar.^[2][5] As a masculine noun it was a maker or seller of olive oil.^[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant of olive oil.^[6] In Medieval Latin it was an oil dealer.^[7] British Medieval Latin used it for containing olive oil, and as a noun for an oil jar.^[8] It survives as French oléaire and Italian and Spanish oleario.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[4]
• 234–149 BC – Cato has cella oleāria.^[5][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.^[5][4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of or connected with olive oil; of olives.^[2]

Noun

1. (neuter) An oil jar.^[2][8]
2. (masculine) A maker or seller of olive oil.^[2][7]

Related words

• oleum
• olea
• oleāris

References

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