Etymologically
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penna

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈpɛn.na][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpɛn.na][1]

Forms

penna f (genitive pennae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *petnā-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *pet-n-h₂- (“wing, feather”), from the root *peth₂- “to fly”.[2][1] Old forms pesna and petna are reported by Festus.[3][4] Cognate with Hittite 𒁉𒀜𒋫𒅈 (pattar, “wing”), Sanskrit पत्त्र (pátra-, “wing, feather”), Ancient Greek πτερόν (pterón, “feather, wing”).[2][3] The variant pinna may be a dialect form, and the two are confused in manuscripts.[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, Köbler from Ennius, whose eagle flies against the wind with dense wings.[2][5][3] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

In the plural it was a wing, and in the singular a feather, as Ennius' “race adorned with feathers” or the plume of a helmet, and Ovid once uses it of a spur of land of Sicily.[3] Döderlein distinguishes āla, the wing as a joint, from penna, the wing as feathers.[6]

In Late Latin it became a quill pen for writing, the sense Niermeyer gives first, and through Old French pene it gave English pen in the late 13th century.[7][8] Italian penne “quills” gave the name of the pasta, recorded in English by 1959.[8]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius speaks of an eagle's wings.[3][5]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of a spur of land.[3][5]
  • late 13th century – English pen is recorded, from the Late Latin sense “quill pen”.[8]
  • by 1959 – English penne is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A wing (usually plural).[3]
  2. A feather; a plume.[3]
  3. A spur of land.[3]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A quill, writing pen.[7][9]

Word family

  • bipennis
  • pennātus
  • pennifer
  • penniger
  • pennipotens
  • pennor
  • pennula
  • dēpennātus
  • pennārium
  • pennātulus
  • pennescō
  • pennipēs

Usage notes

Döderlein quotes Plautus' “my wings have no feathers” (meae ālae pennās nōn habent) for the difference between āla and penna.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c 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. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ 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