quartarium

Forms

quartarium n (genitive quartariī); second declension^[1] Spellings include cartarium, quarterium, carterium and quarteirium.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin quārtus (“fourth”) + -ārium.^[2] Niermeyer treats it together with the masculine and feminine forms in ⟨-ius⟩ and ⟨-ia⟩.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest record is in Adalhard, in 822.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It named a quarter of many things:^[1][2] a quarter of a loaf or of a slaughtered beast, a quart of wine, a measure of capacity, a fourth part of a mansus and the area sown with a quarter of seed corn.^[1] The glossaries of Papias and Johannes de Janua explain it as a measure holding a quarter of a sextārius.^[3]

It also meant a quarter or district of a city,^[1][3] a quarter of a year and, in heraldry, a quarter of a shield.^[3]

Timeline

• 822 – First recorded, in Adalhard.^[2]
• 1332 – A charter of Saint-Martin of Pontoise uses quarteria for quarters of a iūgerum.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) A quarter of a loaf or of a slaughtered animal.^[1][2]
2. (Medieval Latin) A quart of wine; a measure of capacity for grain.^[1][3]
3. (Medieval Latin) A fourth part of a mansus; a land measure.^[1][2]
4. (Medieval Latin) A quarter or district of a city.^[1][3][2]
5. (Medieval Latin) A quarter of a year.^[3]
6. (Medieval Latin, heraldry) A quarter of a shield.^[3]

Related words

• quārtārius
• quārta
• quārtus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d e f g h du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre