rotella

Forms

rotella f (genitive rotellae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a diminutive, from Latin rota (“wheel”) + -ellus.^[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Augustine uses it in his commentary on Psalm 76 for a small wheel.^[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

Isidore of Seville explains orbis “circle, world” from its roundness like a wheel, adding that a little wheel (rotella) is called orbiculus.^[5][2] Niermeyer treats it as a form of rotula.^[6]

Medieval writers used it for a small wheel, as of a plough, and for things shaped like one: an embroidered roundel, a round pane of painted glass, a small roll of parchment and a kind of chandelier in a church.^[7] Du Cange also records it for a kind of round shield and as a synonym of rotulus “roll”.^[8] Variant spellings include roella and ruella.^[4] Italian rotella continues the Late Latin word.^[3]

Timeline

• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it for a small wheel.^[2][4]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville uses it in explaining orbis.^[5][4]
• 1245 – It is used of embroidered roundels.^[7]
• 1324 – A pair of small wheels is bought for a plough.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) A small wheel.^[2][9][1]
2. (Medieval Latin) A roundel: an ornamental circle sewn or embroidered on cloth, or a small round pane of painted glass.^[7]
3. (Medieval Latin) A small roll of parchment, a scroll.^[7][8]
4. (Medieval Latin, ecclesiastical) A kind of chandelier.^[7]
5. (Medieval Latin) A kind of round shield.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
6. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b c d e f 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
8. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
9. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.