Etymologically
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scutarius

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [skuːˈtaː.ri.ʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [skuˈtaː.ri.us][1]

Forms

scūtārius m (genitive scūtāriī or scūtārī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin scūtum (“shield”) + -ārius.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus, in the Epidicus, mentions a shield-maker.[4][5] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

Its classical sense was a shield-maker, and as an adjective of shields, as Vegetius' shield factories, fabricae scūtāriae.[2][4] Under the later emperors the scūtāriī were a corps of the imperial guard armed with shields, as in Ammianus Marcellinus.[4][5]

In medieval Latin it was a shield-bearer or squire, with forms such as escutarius and escuderius.[6][3] In England it was also a shield-maker, sometimes passing into a surname, as Ernald the shield-maker in a Pipe Roll of 1166.[7] Through Old French escuier “shield-bearer” it gave English esquire, recorded in the late 14th century, and English squire.[8][1] Spanish escudero and Portuguese escudeiro continue it too.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus mentions a shield-maker.[4][3]
  • c. 390 AD – Ammianus Marcellinus mentions the guard of scūtāriī.[5][3]
  • c. 400 AD – Vegetius speaks of shield factories.[4][3]
  • 1166 – An English Pipe Roll names a shield-maker.[7]
  • late 14th century – English esquire is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A shield-maker.[2][1]
  2. (Late Latin) A guardsman armed with a shield.[4][1]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A shield-bearer, squire.[6][8]

Adjective

  1. (Late Latin) Of shields.[4][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f 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 c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com