Etymologically
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pruna

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈpruː.na][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpruː.na][1]

Forms

prūna f (genitive prūnae); first declension[1]

Etymology

The OLD compares, perhaps, pruīna “hoarfrost”, and Köbler traces it to Proto-Indo-European ⟨*prews-⟩ “to freeze; to burn”, and Lewis & Short related it to Greek ⟨πῦρ⟩ “fire”.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Cato, whom he dates 234–149 BC.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a glowing coal, a live coal, as in Cato, Horace and Pliny the Elder, and Virgil writes medium per ignem multā premimus vestīgia prūnā “we tread through the fire on many coals”.[2][4][5]

British Medieval Latin used it for a live coal.[6] It survives in reshaped form in Catalan espurna “spark”.[1]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it.[3][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it.[4][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A live coal, ember.[2]

References

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