Etymologically
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scalpellum

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Forms

scalpellum n (genitive scalpellī); second declension[1] A masculine form scalpellus is certain in Celsus.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin scalprum (“tool for scraping or cutting”) + -lum, a diminutive.[2][1][3] The base noun is in turn formed on scalpō (“to scratch, carve”).[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Cicero,[5][6] as the surgeon's small knife: in the Pro Sestio and the De divinatione he speaks of applying the scalpel (scalpellum adhibēre).[3][6]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it was above all the surgical lancet, used by Celsus, Columella and Pliny the Elder;[3][7] the OLD also records a similar instrument used in grafting.[2] In the Vulgate, a scribe's knife (scalpellum scrībae) is a penknife.[3][7][6]

Medieval Latin used it for any small sharp tool for scraping, cutting, engraving or boring, specially for scraping errors off parchment, as well as for the surgeon's knife.[8] English borrowed it as scalpel in the 18th century.[4]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the surgeon's knife.[3][6][5]
  • 14–37 AD – Celsus has the masculine scalpellus.[2][3][5]
  • 1st century AD – Columella uses it.[3][5]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it for a scribe's penknife.[7][6][5]
  • 1742 – English borrows it as scalpel.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A small surgical knife, scalpel, lancet.[2][3][7]
  2. A similar knife used in grafting.[2]
  3. (Late Latin) A penknife (scalpellum scrībae).[3][7]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A small tool for scraping, cutting, engraving or boring, especially for erasing writing on parchment.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ 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