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pectorale

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word pectorale

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
116–27 BC Varro More words from the 2nd century BC
Ultimate origin
Latin pectorālis
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pectus
French pis
Italian petto
Romanian piept
Spanish pecho
Latin pectorālis
Latin pectorāle
English pectoral

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [pɛk.tɔˈraː.ɫɛ][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [pek.toˈraː.le][1]

Forms

pectorāle n (genitive pectorālis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is a noun use of the neuter of the adjective from Latin pectorālis (“of the breast”),[2][1] which is from pectus (“breast, chest”).[3] De Vaan reconstructs *pektos- for the noun.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Varro uses it for a breastplate, and Pliny the Elder has it too.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it is a piece of armour protecting the chest.[2][4] In medieval Latin it named other things that cover or go across the breast: the strap round a horse's chest that keeps the saddle from slipping back,[5][6] a railing,[5] the brooch that fastens a cope,[7] and the pectoral, a bishop's liturgical ornament, also called rationale.[5][6] The statutes of the abbey of Saint-Victor in Paris use it for a garment of canons regular that covered the chest.[6]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it for a breastplate.[4][8]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it.[4][8]
  • c. 1100 – John of Amalfi uses it.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A breastplate.[2][4]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A horse's breast strap, poitrel.[5][6]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A railing.[5]
  4. (Medieval Latin) The pectoral, a bishop's liturgical ornament.[5][6]
  5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A brooch fastening a cope.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Pectorale.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/pectorale. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·