plastrum

Forms

plastrum n (genitive plastrī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a shortening from Latin emplastrum (“plaster”),^[2][3][4] which comes from Ancient Greek ἔμπλαστρον (émplastron).^[5][3] Wiktionary and the DMLBS connect the medieval word with Old French plastre: in Wiktionary's account Medieval Latin borrowed the Old French word, itself from the shortened Vulgar Latin form *plastrum, whose first syllable was taken for the prefix in-.^[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Du Cange's earliest dated example is a letter of an archbishop of Rouen of 1233, where it means plaster or gypsum as a building material.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Etymonline traces late Old English plaster, a medicinal plaster, to medical Latin plastrum;^[3] the medical sense, a poultice, appears in British records from 1288.^[5] As a building material it is common in English accounts of the 13th century, for chapels and chimneys, and is distinguished by origin as French or English plaster.^[5] Niermeyer also gives it the sense of a plastered wall or floor,^[2] and Du Cange cites it for a floor.^[6]

Timeline

• 1233 – A letter of an archbishop of Rouen uses it for plaster.^[6]
• 1243 – The Gascon Rolls speak of a great chapel “of plaster” in Hertford castle.^[5][4]
• 1288 – A court roll of St Ives uses it of a poultice put on a man's head.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin, medicine) A plaster, poultice, bandage.^[5][1]
2. (Medieval Latin) Plaster, gypsum as a building material.^[2][5][6]
3. (Medieval Latin) A plastered wall or floor.^[2][6]

Related words

• emplastrum
• English plaster

Usage notes

Du Cange has a separate plastrum, a measure of land, recorded in a charter of 1208 of the bishop of Mâcon.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
6. ^ a b c d e f du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre