Etymologically
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pecia

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈpɛ.ki.a][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈpɛː.t͡ʃi.a][1]

Forms

pecia f (genitive peciae); first declension[2][3] It is also spelled petia, pezia, pechia, pettia and piccia, and a neuter pecium and masculine pecius are found.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from Gaulish *pettsi;[5] Etymonline gives the intermediate form as *pettia.[5] The TLL calls it a foreign word, perhaps standing for that form, which scholars assign to Gaulish;[6] Niermeyer and Köbler likewise give it a Celtic origin.[2][3] Etymonline compares Welsh peth (“thing”) and Breton pez (“piece”), and tentatively connects the Celtic word with Proto-Indo-European *kʷezd- (“part, piece”).[5] Wiktionary, which treats it under the spelling ⟨pettia⟩, calls the origin uncertain and suggests *pettyā, from Proto-Celtic *kʷezdis (“piece, portion”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL's only example is in a Merovingian text of the Salic law, where four sticks are to be thrown in four directions, in quattuor pecias, apparently four parts of the court.[6]

Semantic evolution

In medieval Latin it was a piece of anything: of land, of cloth, of meat, of parchment or silverware.[2][4][7] It was also a section of a manuscript copied separately, a cask of wine, and an item in an account.[2] English records add a pig of lead or iron, a coin, a piece of ordnance, and the use “apiece” for each head of livestock.[4]

French pièce and Italian pezzo belong with it,[6] and English piece came from the Old French word.[5]

Timeline

  • Merovingian period – The Salic law has in quattuor pecias.[6]
  • 746 – The earliest date Köbler gives, from Niermeyer's material.[3]
  • c. 1200 – English piece, from Old French.[5]
  • 1205 – Twenty pieces of good sturgeon, in the English close rolls.[4]
  • 1312 – A notary's record on ten sheets of parchment.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) A piece, part, fragment.[2][4][7]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A plot of land.[2][4]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A piece of cloth.[2][4]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A section of a manuscript copied separately; a sheet of parchment.[2][4]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A cask of wine.[2]
  6. (Medieval Latin) An item in an account.[2]
  7. (Medieval Latin) A pig of lead or iron; a piece of silverware; a coin.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  7. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl