scaphium

Forms

scaphium n (genitive scaphiī or scaphī); second declension^[1] The spellings ⟨scafium⟩ and ⟨scapium⟩ also occur;^[2][3] Georges notes that good manuscripts have ⟨scapium⟩.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek σκάφιον (skáphion),^[2][3][5][1] a diminutive of σκάφη (skáphē, “bowl; skiff”).^[1] Köbler groups it with scapha (“skiff”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Plautus,^[6] who uses it of a boat-shaped drinking bowl: the Stichus has scaphiō bibunt, “they drink from the bowl”.^[7][3]

Semantic evolution

Its general sense is a concave, boat-shaped vessel or basin, as in Lucretius and Vitruvius.^[2][3][4] In particular it was a drinking cup of that shape: besides Plautus, Cicero mentions golden scaphia in the Verrines.^[3][4] It was also a chamber pot, especially one used by women,^[4] in Martial, Juvenal and the jurist Ulpian, who holds that a legacy of silver plate does not include chamber pots.^[2][3] Technical writers used it for the bowl of a water clock (Vitruvius) and for a concave sundial (Martianus Capella).^[3][4]

British medieval writers used it for a bowl or pot, above all a chamber pot.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a drinking bowl.^[7][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero mentions golden scaphia.^[4][6]
• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it for the bowl of a water clock.^[3][6]
• 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses it of a chamber pot.^[2][6]
• 5th century AD – Martianus Capella uses it for a concave sundial.^[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A boat-shaped bowl or basin.^[2][3]
2. A boat-shaped drinking cup.^[3][4]
3. A chamber pot.^[2][3]
4. The bowl of a water clock.^[3][7]
5. A concave sundial.^[3][9]

Related words

• scapha

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 k l m n Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ Saalfeld, Günther Alexander (1874), Index Graecorum vocabulorum in linguam latinam translatorum, Berlin: Weidmann
6. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.