pilleus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈpɪl.le.ʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpil.le.us]^[1]

Forms

pilleus m (genitive pilleī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is obscure.^[2] It resembles Ancient Greek πῖλος (pîlos, “felt, felt cap”), from which Saalfeld and Gaffiot derive it, and Wiktionary groups it with Russian полсть (polstʹ, “felt”) and Old High German filz (“felt”).^[3][4][1] Driessen thinks it unrelated to the Greek word.^[2] The OLD reconstructs *pilseios and connects pilus “hair”.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, whose slave will shave his head and put on the cap of a freedman.^[2][5] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It was a close-fitting felt cap, shaped like half an egg.^[5][7] A slave set free shaved his head and put on the pilleus, so ad pilleum vocāre meant to call to freedom, and slaves sold without warranty wore it too.^[5] It was worn at the Saturnalia, as Martial says it suits Jupiter, and for medical reasons over a shaved head.^[5]

The cap became a symbol of liberty, shown on the coins of Caesar's assassins.^[7] Medieval writers used it of royal, ducal, priestly and academic caps.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus' slave hopes to put on the freedman's cap.^[5][6]
• 14–37 AD – Celsus prescribes a cap for a shaved head.^[5][6]
• 40–102/103 AD – Martial speaks of the cap worn at the Saturnalia.^[5][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A felt cap.^[5]
2. The cap of a freed slave, a symbol of freedom, ad pilleum vocāre, to set free.^[5]
3. (Medieval Latin) A cap of office (royal, clerical, academic).^[8]

Related words

• pilus
• lībertās

Usage notes

It is also spelled pīleus, and the neuter pilleum is found.^[5][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
4. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b 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