portator

Forms

portātor m (genitive portātōris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin portō + -tor.^[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL's first example is the Itala, the Old Latin Bible (after 220 AD),^[2][3] where the Gibeonites are to be woodcutters and water carriers for the whole congregation (Joshua 9:21).^[2]

Semantic evolution

The grammarian Probus lists it but seems to say that it was hardly in use, and manuscripts often confuse it with portitor².^[2] Late writers use it of a carrier in general: Augustine of one who carries other people,^[2][4] Optatus of chalices that carry the blood of Christ,^[4] and Isidore of Seville in explaining tabellio as a carrier of letters.^[4]

In medieval Latin it named many kinds of bearers: the bearer of a letter, bearers of the bier at a funeral, men who carried bread to the oven, bearers of arms and carriers of loads.^[5][6] It survives in Romance, as Italian portatore, French porteur and Spanish portador,^[2] and through Anglo-French portour it gave English porter.^[7]

Timeline

• after 220 AD – The Itala uses it for the water carriers of Joshua 9:21.^[2][3]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it of one who carries others.^[2][3]
• 366/367 AD – Optatus calls chalices bearers of the blood of Christ.^[4][3]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville uses it of a letter carrier.^[4][3]
• 1186 – A letter of Philip Augustus uses it of men who carry bread to the ovens.^[5]
• late 14th century – English has porter “one who carries”, from Anglo-French.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A carrier, bearer.^[2][4][8]
2. A carrier of letters, messenger.^[4][5]
3. (Medieval Latin) The bearer of a letter or document.^[5][6]
4. (Medieval Latin) portator armorum: one who bears arms.^[6]

Word family

• portatorius

Related words

• English porter

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c d du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
6. ^ a b c 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
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier