phalanx

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈpʰa.ɫaŋks]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfaː.laŋks]^[1]

Forms

phalanx f (genitive phalangis or phalangos); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek φάλαγξ (phálanx, “line of battle”).^[2][3][1] A later spelling is falanx.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Caesar (c. 50 BC).^[6] Caesar uses it of the close formation of the Gauls and Germans.^[7]

Semantic evolution

It meant a body of infantry armed with long pikes in battle order, especially the Macedonian phalanx, as in Nepos, Curtius and Livy.^[2][7] In poetry it meant any close-packed host, as Virgil's phalanxes of Agamemnon and of the Etruscans.^[4][5]

In medieval Latin it also meant a retinue or a retainer.^[6] English phalanx was borrowed in the 1550s, and phalange earlier through Old French.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of the Gauls' formation.^[7][6]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of Agamemnon's hosts.^[4][6]
• c. 100–24 BC – Nepos uses it of Greek and Macedonian phalanxes.^[7][6]
• mid-15th century – English phalange is recorded.^[8]
• 1550s – English phalanx is borrowed.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A phalanx, especially the Macedonian.^[2][1]
2. (poetic) A host in close order, a battalion.^[4][1]
3. (Medieval Latin) A retinue.^[6]

Word family

• phalangārius

Related words

• English phalanx
• English phalange

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
4. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com