selibra

Forms

sēlībra f (genitive sēlībrae); first declension^[1] The first syllable is long by nature, but it is short in all verse examples.^[2] Martial scans it with a short e.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is from Latin sēmi- (“half”) + lībra (“pound”), with the shortened prefix ⟨sē-⟩.^[2][1] De Vaan thinks it was probably made from lībra on the model of sēmodius “half a modius”, from an older ⟨*sēmi-modius⟩.^[5] He reconstructs Proto-Italic *leiþra- (“pound”) for the noun, whose root is unidentified.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler record it from Cato on,^[5][6] who uses it in De agri cultura as a measure of weight.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It is a half-pound, half a libra, a measure of weight.^[2][4] After Cato it is used by Varro, Livy, Columella, Pliny the Elder and Martial.^[3][4]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato uses it in De agri cultura.^[3][6]
• 116–27 BC – Varro mentions it in De lingua Latina.^[3][6]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it.^[3][4][6]
• 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses it with a short first syllable.^[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. Half a lībra, a half-pound (a measure of weight).^[2][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de