Etymologically
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rapum

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈraː.pũː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈraː.pum][1]

Forms

rāpum n (genitive rāpī); second declension[1] A feminine rāpa is also found, from Varro on.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Proto-Italic *rāpo-.[2] It shares a wandering word with Ancient Greek ῥάπυς (rhápus, “turnip”), Lithuanian rópė (“turnip”), Russian Church Slavonic ⟨rěpa⟩ and Old High German ruoba (“turnip”), but de Vaan shows the sounds cannot go back to one Proto-Indo-European form and thinks it a common borrowing from a non-Indo-European language.[2][4] Wiktionary and Köbler reconstruct Proto-Indo-European *(s)rā́ps.[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and the OLD date it from Cato, of turnips.[2][6] Köbler dates Cato 234–149 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It was the turnip, as in Cato, Varro and Pliny the Elder, and in Seneca the underground stock of a tree.[6][7] Isidore derived rāpa from rapere “to seize”, that is, to grasp.[8]

British Medieval Latin used rāpa or rāpum for the turnip and rape, the parsnip and other roots.[9] It is continued in Proto-Romance, with French rave and Italian rapa, and Italian ravioli is formed from it.[10][1][5] English rape, the oilseed plant, came from Old French rape and directly from Latin in the late 14th century.[4]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it.[2][6][5]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of the root-stock of a tree.[6][5]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore derives it from rapere.[8][5]
  • late 14th century – English rape (the plant) is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A turnip.[6]
  2. The underground stock of a tree.[6]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Rape (the plant); a parsnip.[9]

Word family

  • rāpa
  • rāpicius
  • rāpistrum
  • rāpulum
  • rāpīna
  • English rape

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom