Etymologically

pultarius

Etymology and origin of the Latin word pultarius

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
AD 14–37, Celsus
Ultimate origin
Latin puls
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin puls
Latin pultarius

Forms

pultārius m (genitive pultāriī or pultārī); second declension[1] The spellings pultōrius and pultūrius occur in manuscripts, and glosses have a neuter pultārium.[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin puls (“porridge”) + -ārius,[1][3][2] and so originally a vessel for making porridge.[3][2] The TLL compares Spanish puchero.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Celsus,[4] for a small vessel applied to the skin in place of a cupping glass.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

Although named after porridge, the word is recorded only for earthenware vessels used in other ways: a cup in Petronius and Pliny the Elder, jars for keeping grapes in Columella, and a pan of coals for fumigation in Palladius.[3][2][5] Celsus, Columella and the inscriptions treat it as masculine; the glosses have a neuter form.[2]

Timeline

  • AD 14–37 – Celsus uses it for a vessel used in cupping.[3][2][4]
  • 1st century AD – Columella describes grapes stored in such vessels.[3][2][4]
  • before AD 66 – Petronius uses it for a cup.[3][5][4]
  • AD 23/24–79 – Pliny the Elder uses it for a cup of warm drink.[3][5][4]
  • late 4th or early 5th century AD – Palladius uses it for a pan of coals.[3][5][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A pot, originally one for cooking porridge; an earthenware vessel.[1][3]
  2. A cup or vessel for drinks.[3][5]
  3. A jar for preserving grapes.[3][5]
  4. A pan of coals used for fumigation.[3][5]
  5. A cupping glass.[3][5]

Usage notes

Medieval pultarius in Niermeyer and the DMLBS is a form of pulletārius (poulterer), which has a separate source.[6][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  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 g h i j k l m n Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ 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
Cite this entry

“Pultarius.” Etymologically, 25 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/pultarius. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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