Etymologically
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sceletus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈskɛ.ɫɛ.tʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈʃɛː.le.tus][1]

Forms

sceletus m (genitive sceletī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek σκελετός (skeletós, “dried up; a mummy”), from σκέλλω (skéllō, “to dry up”).[2][1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD, Lewis & Short and Gaffiot cite only Apuleius' Apology.[2][5][6] Köbler dates Apuleius c. 125–175 AD.[3]

Semantic evolution

In Apuleius it was a skeleton, or a dried body, a mummy, described as the gutted shape of a dreadful corpse.[2][5][6]

Modern Latin sceleton, from the Greek, gave English skeleton in the 1570s.[4] It survives in Italian scheletro and French squelette.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it.[2][3]
  • 1570s – English skeleton is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A skeleton; a dried body, mummy.[2][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.