Etymologically
Log in

scutula

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word scutula

scutula1 small dish; lozenge

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC Plautus, Miles Gloriosus
Ultimate origin
Latin scutra
Etymology tree of scutula1
inherited borrowed derived
Latin scutra
Latin scutula
From the same root · scutula1
Latin scutella ← scutra

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈskʊ.tʊ.ɫa][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈskuː.tu.la][1]

Forms

scutula f (genitive scutulae); first declension[1]

Etymology

The word for the dish and the lozenge shape is from Latin scutra (“flat dish”) + -ula, according to the OLD;[2] Lewis and Short likewise call it a diminutive of ⟨scutra⟩ and compare scutella.[3] Wiktionary sees it rather as a back-formation from ⟨scutella⟩, the diminutive of ⟨scutra⟩.[1] De Vaan, who lists it among the derivatives of ⟨scutra⟩, leaves that word's origin open: a link with scūtum (“shield”) seems possible to him, since a shield turned upside down can serve as a dish, but the suffix would be unusual, so it may well be a loanword.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus on.[4] In the Miles Gloriosus it is a woollen patch worn over the eyes as part of a ship-master's outfit, one of the things named after the lozenge shape.[2]

Semantic evolution

The first sense in the OLD is a small shallow dish, as in Martial;[2] Tacitus compares the shape of all Britain to an oblong scutula or a double axe.[2] From the shape of the scutra it named a lozenge or diamond figure: Censorinus defines it as a rhombus with equal sides and no right angles, and Pliny the Elder says that Gaul divided woven cloth into such checks.[2] Vitruvius uses it for lozenge-shaped stones in a pavement.[2][3]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it for a woollen eye patch.[2][5]
  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it for lozenge-shaped paving stones.[2][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it for checks in woven cloth.[2][5]
  • 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses it for a small dish.[2][5]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus compares the shape of Britain to a scutula.[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A small shallow dish or pan.[2][3]
  2. A lozenge or diamond figure, a rhombus.[2][3]
  3. Something of this shape: a stone in a tessellated pavement, a patch worn over the eye.[2]

Word family

  • scutulātus

scutula2 roller

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
234–149 BC Cato, On Agriculture
Borrowed from
Ancient Greek σκυτάλη
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek σκυτάλη
Etymology tree of scutula2
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek σκυτάλη (skutálē)
Latin scutula

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈskʊ.tʊ.ɫa][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈskuː.tu.la][1]

Forms

scutula f (genitive scutulae); first declension[1]

Etymology

The word for the roller is borrowed from Ancient Greek σκυτάλη (skutálē, “staff, stick”), adapted to Latin.[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cato uses it first, in his treatise on agriculture, among the parts of a wine or oil press to be put back in their places.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Caesar tells how ships were hauled overland by levers over rollers laid beneath them.[2][3] In the Greek spellings scytala and scytale it also named the Spartan secret dispatch, written on a strip wound round a staff, in Nepos and Ausonius, and a kind of cylindrical snake in Pliny the Elder, Lucan and Solinus.[3]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato names it among the parts of a press.[2][5]
  • c. 100–24 BC – Nepos uses scytala for a Spartan secret dispatch.[3][5]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar describes ships moved on rollers.[2][3][5]
  • c. 310–394 AD – Ausonius has the form scytale for the secret dispatch.[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A wooden cylinder, a roller.[2][3]
  2. (as scytala, scytale) A secret dispatch of the Spartans, written on a strip wound round a staff.[3]
  3. (as scytala, scytale) A kind of cylindrical snake.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Scutula.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/scutula. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·