pistillum

Forms

pistillum n (genitive pistillī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a diminutive from Latin pīnsō (“to pound, crush”), built on the root of that verb and of pistō (“to pound”).^[1][2][3] De Vaan takes it as the evidence that pīlum “pestle” goes back to Proto-Italic *pistlo- (“pounder, mortar”).^[4] Wiktionary explains it as *pistlelo-, a diminutive of that noun, or else as *pistrelo-, with the other form of the instrument suffix, and notes difficulties for both: the expected outcome of the second would be ⟨pistellum⟩, and the first needs a cluster /stl/ at a time when /tl/ had already changed in Italic.^[1]

The verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *pi-n-s- (“to grind”).^[4] Cognate with Sanskrit पिनष्टि (pináṣṭi, “crushes, grinds”) and Ancient Greek πτίσσω (ptíssō, “to winnow grain, bray”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus (c. 250–184 BC) on,^[4][2] in the Aulularia, meaning a pestle for pounding in a mortar.^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it stayed a household and kitchen word: Columella tells the reader to crush mustard seed in a mortar with pestles, and Pliny the Elder also has it.^[6][3] A masculine pistillus existed beside the neuter.^[6][5] The glossaries render it with the Greek words for a pestle, such as δοίδυξ (doíduks).^[7]

In Medieval Latin it appears in many spellings, pestellum among them,^[8][2] and Köbler records the sense “bell clapper”.^[2] A writer of 1166 tells of a neck broken with a large pestle.^[9] English pestle comes partly from Old French pestel and partly directly from this word,^[10] and Modern Latin used pistillum for the female organ of a flower, from its shape, which gave English pistil.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus names it in the Aulularia.^[3][5][2]
• 1st century AD – Columella uses it for crushing mustard seed.^[6][2]
• 1025 – A cartulary has the medieval form pestellum.^[8]
• 1166 – A letter tells of a neck broken with a large pestle.^[9]
• mid-14th century – English has pestel, from Old French and directly from Latin.^[10]
• 1718 – English pistil, from French, after the Modern Latin botanical sense.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A pestle for pounding in a mortar.^[6][3][5]
2. (Medieval Latin) The clapper of a bell.^[2]
3. (New Latin, botany) The pistil of a flower.^[10]

Related words

• pistor
• English pestle
• English pistil

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ a b Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com