Etymologically
Log in

salignus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 19:38. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [saˈlɪŋ.nʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [saˈliɲ.ɲus][1]

Forms

salignus (feminine saligna, neuter salignum); first/second-declension adjective[1] A collateral form ⟨salignĕus⟩ is found in Cato, Columella and the Digest.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is from Latin salix (“willow”) + -nus, formed like lārignus and īlignus.[5][1][6] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of salix, which goes back to Proto-Italic *salik- (“willow”).[4] Cognates of that noun are Old Irish sail and Welsh helyg, Ancient Greek ἑλίκη (helíkē) in Arcadian, and Old English sealh, all “willow”; de Vaan thinks the shape of the word and its narrow distribution point to a non-Indo-European tree name.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found first in Cato,[4][7] who speaks of wedges of willow wood in his treatise on agriculture.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

The word means made of willow wood or of withies.[5][2] Horace has a willow cudgel, Ovid willow spits, a willow bed and willow foliage, and Vitruvius willow stakes;[2][6] Virgil has willow wickerwork bent for shields, and Petronius a wicker hurdle.[2][8]

In medieval Latin it still meant “of willow”: Aldhelm has a lantern built of willow wood, and in British sources the feminine is also used as a noun for the willow or osier itself.[9]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato speaks of willow wedges.[2][8][7]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of willow wickerwork for shields.[2][7]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace has a willow cudgel.[2][7]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid has willow spits and a willow bed.[2][7]
  • 639–709 AD – Aldhelm has a lantern of willow wood.[9][7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of willow or willow wood; made of withies or osier.[5][2]

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin, feminine) A willow, osier.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  9. ^ 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