sala

Forms

sala f (genitive salae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a Germanic word.^[2] Köbler's source is from Proto-Germanic *salam (“house, hall”), beside *saliz, which he connects, with a query, to Proto-Indo-European *sel- (“dwelling”).^[1] The DMLBS compares Middle English sale and Old French sale.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It appears in the Lombard laws, where the Edict of Rothari speaks of leaving one's own house (de sala propria exire).^[4][1]

Semantic evolution

Niermeyer defines it first as a large building with a single room and no upper floor, then as a home, the chief house of an estate, a manor, and the hall of a palace.^[2] It is common in the capitularies, charters and the laws of the Alamanni,^[1][4] and a charter of 783 grants eleven houses together with a sala.^[4] In British sources it means a hall.^[3]

Timeline

• 643 – The Lombard laws use it for a house.^[1][4]
• 783 – A charter names a sala among eleven houses.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) A large single-room building.^[2][1]
2. (Medieval Latin) A home, dwelling.^[2]
3. (Medieval Latin) The chief house of an estate, a manor.^[2]
4. (Medieval Latin) A hall, the main room of a palace.^[2][3]

Usage notes

Sala is also the name of a river and a town in Mauretania in Pliny the Elder.^[5] Du Cange records a separate sala “axle” in Italian statutes, an Italian word.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
2. ^ a b c d e f Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
3. ^ a b c 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
4. ^ a b c d e f du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.