Etymologically
Log in

palea

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 04:59. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈpa.ɫe.a][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpaː.le.a][1]

Forms

palea f (genitive paleae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *palejā-, from Proto-Indo-European *p(e)lh₁- (“chaff”).[2][1] It could be cognate with the stem *pelH-u- “chaff” in Sanskrit पलाव (palā́va, “chaff”), Lithuanian pẽlūs (“chaff”) and Old Church Slavonic плѣвы (plěvy, “chaff”).[2][3] Since chaff is what is threshed off, these words may be nouns from Proto-Indo-European *pelh₁- (“to swing”), as in Ancient Greek πάλλω (pállō, “to swing”).[2][1] Isidore of Seville derived it from pāla “shovel”, with which grain was winnowed, from the goddess Pales, or from pābulum.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Cato, who lists chaff among the materials an owner must supply.[2][3] Köbler dates Cato 234–149 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant chaff, the separated husks and straw of grain, usually in the plural or as a collective, and a single husk, as Virgil's empty husks tossed by the west wind.[3][6] Varro and Columella use it of the wattles of a cock, and perhaps of a dewlap, though de Vaan doubts this is the same word.[3][2]

In Medieval Latin it stood for worthless things, the chaff as opposed to the grain.[7] It survives in Italian paglia, French paille and Spanish paja “straw”.[1] Through Old French paillet it is the source of English pallet “straw mattress”, recorded in the late 14th century.[8]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of chaff.[3][5]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of a cock's wattles.[3][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of husks.[3][5]
  • late 14th century – English pallet is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Chaff.[3]
  2. A husk.[3]
  3. The wattles of a cock.[3]

Word family

  • paleālis
  • palear
  • paleāris
  • paleārium
  • paleātus
  • English pallet

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com