opilio

Forms

ōpiliō m (genitive ōpiliōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound Proto-Italic *owi-pol-o- (“sheep-driver”), from ovis “sheep” and a second part from Proto-Indo-European *polh₂-o- (“driver”), from the root of pellō “to drive”.^[2][3][1] The compound is probably not of Indo-European date.^[2] The variant ūpiliō in Virgil is the expected Latin form, and ōpiliō in Plautus and inscriptions may be Sabellic.^[2] Vine instead takes it as a rustic Roman form.^[2] The OLD compares the second part with Ancient Greek αἰπόλος (aipólos, “goatherd”), and the TLL calls the second part unclear.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, who speaks of a shepherd who pastures another man's sheep.^[2][4] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant a herdsman of sheep or goats, a shepherd, as in Plautus, Cato and Varro, and Virgil, Columella and the Vulgate have ūpiliō.^[4][7] Festus names a bird so.^[4]

In Medieval Latin it was used of Abel the shepherd and of a lowly occupation.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of a shepherd of others' sheep.^[4][6]
• 234–149 BC – Cato lists a shepherd among farm hands.^[4][6]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil has the form ūpiliō.^[7][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A shepherd, goatherd.^[4]
2. A kind of bird.^[4]

Related words

• ovis
• pellō

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ 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