Etymologically
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plastrum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈpɫas.trũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈplas.trum][1]

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]

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