portorium

Forms

portōrium n (genitive portōriī or portōrī); second declension^[1] An inscription has the dative plural portorieis.^[2]

Etymology

The OLD derives it from ⟨*portitōrium⟩, from portitor “toll collector” with -ium.^[3] Wiktionary connects it with porta “gate”, and Gaffiot with portus “harbour” or portō “to carry”.^[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Plautus.^[5] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a payment levied on goods passing through a port, frontier or other barrier, a customs duty, toll, as in Cicero and Caesar.^[3][4]

British Medieval Latin used it, by association with portāre, for a kind of staff or walking stick.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.^[4][5]
• c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it.^[4][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A customs duty, toll.^[3][2]
2. (Medieval Latin) A walking stick.^[6]

Related words

• portitor
• portus
• porta

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ 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