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
- (Medieval Latin) A large single-room building.[2][1]
- (Medieval Latin) A home, dwelling.[2]
- (Medieval Latin) The chief house of an estate, a manor.[2]
- (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
- ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c d e f Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.