Etymologically
Log in

sculptura

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 18:48. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [skʊɫpˈtuː.ra][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [skulpˈtuː.ra][1]

Forms

sculptūra f (genitive sculptūrae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin sculpō (“to carve”) + -tūra;[2][1] the OLD compares the older scalptūra.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Vitruvius has it first,[3][2] saying that white and black poplar, willow and lime are easy to work in carving.[2]

Semantic evolution

Pliny the Elder uses it of carved work,[2][4] Quintilian of the art of carving,[4] and Suetonius of the engraving on the stone of a ring, which showed the rape of Proserpina.[4] In a passage of Capito quoted by Macrobius it is the figure cut into a signet ring,[2] and Ampelius describes a marble altar with very large carvings.[2] English borrowed it in the late 14th century as sculpture, for the art of carving.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of carving in wood.[2][3]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of carved work.[2][4][3]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it for the engraving of a ring's stone.[4][3]
  • late 14th century – English borrows it as sculpture.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act of carving or engraving.[2][4]
  2. A carved or engraved figure, a sculpture.[2][4][1]

Word family

  • sculptūrātus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com