procella

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [prɔˈkɛl.la]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [proˈt͡ʃɛl.la]^[1]

Forms

procella f (genitive procellae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from prōcellō (“to throw down”), from prō- and ⟨*cellō⟩ “to strike”, the base also of percellō.^[2][1] The TLL accepts the derivation with some caution and compares feminine nouns formed from verbs such as fuga.^[3] Lewis & Short connected it instead with celer and Ancient Greek κέλης (kélēs, “runner”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is Plautus, of a storm.^[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a violent wind, a storm, gale, and in Cicero figuratively a violent disturbance in public or private affairs.^[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it means storm, tempest.^[7] British Medieval Latin used it also of Hell.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it figuratively.^[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A violent wind, storm, gale.^[2]
2. (figurative) A violent commotion, upheaval.^[2]

Word family

• procellōsus

Related words

• percellō
• tempestās

Usage notes

Isidore of Seville derived it from percellere “to strike down”, a force of wind with rain.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).