Etymologically
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plectrum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈpɫeːk.trũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈplɛk.trum][1]

Forms

plēctrum n (genitive plēctrī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek πλῆκτρον (plêktron, “thing to strike with”),[2][3][1][4] from πλήσσω (plḗssō, “to strike”).[1][4] Köbler traces the Greek word to the root Proto-Indo-European *plāk- (“to strike”) of Pokorny.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,[5] who says that people commonly call the tongue like a plectrum, the teeth like strings and the nostrils like horns.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

It is the quill with which the strings of a lyre were struck.[2][3] In poetry it stands for lyric poetry: Horace tells another poet that he will sing of Caesar with a greater plectrum.[2] Wiktionary also gives the lyre itself.[1] Silius Italicus uses it of a ship's helm.[2] Glosses explain it as the striker of the cithara, the small stick by which it is played, and also the helm.[6] English plectrum (late 14th century) is from Latin.[4]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the tongue as a plectrum.[2][5]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace of lyric poetry.[2][5]
  • 25–101 AD – Silius of a ship's helm.[2][5]
  • late 14th century – English plectrum.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A plectrum, quill for striking the strings of a lyre;[2][3][1] (poetic) lyric poetry.[2][3][1]
  2. A lyre, lute.[1]
  3. The helm of a ship.[2]

Word family

  • plectripotens
  • English plectrum

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften