sericum

Forms

sēricum n (genitive sēricī); second declension^[1] Köbler lists many medieval spellings, among them sīricum and cēricum.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin sēricus (“of the Seres; silken”), used as a noun in the neuter.^[1][3] The adjective is from Ancient Greek σηρικός (sērikós, “of the Seres, silken”),^[2] from the name of the eastern people, the Sēres, from whom the making of such cloth came.^[4][5] Walde mentions a more regular by-form siricus.^[4] Isidore of Seville explained the name the same way: silk was so called because the Seres first sent it.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Propertius has the neuter plural sērica for silk fabrics: quid relevant variīs sērica textilibus? “what help are silks with their many-coloured weaves?”^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The plural sērica meant silk garments or fabrics in Seneca and Martial;^[3][7][8] the singular, for silk itself, appears in Solinus and Ammianus, and in the Vulgate.^[7][8] Medieval law codes and formulae use it for silk cloth and silk garments.^[9][2] It lives on in Galician, Portuguese and Spanish sirgo.^[1]

Timeline

• 57/46–12 BC – Propertius uses sērica for silk fabrics.^[3][2]
• 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses sērica for silk garments.^[3][7][2]
• first half of the 3rd century AD – Solinus uses the singular for silk.^[8][2]
• c. 390 AD – Ammianus uses it for silk.^[7][8][2]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville explains the name by the Seres.^[6][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. Silk; silk cloth.^[7][8][10]
2. (plural) sērica: silk fabrics or garments.^[3][7][8]
3. (Medieval Latin) A silk garment.^[9][2]

Word family

• sēricārius
• sēricātus

Related words

• Sēres

Usage notes

Köbler records a separate medieval sericum “red lead, cinnabar” from Britain, of unexplained origin,^[2] and Du Cange a sericum that was a measure of liquids.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Walde, Alois (1906), Lateinisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
7. ^ a b c d e f Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b c d e f Jeanneau, Gérard; Woitrain, Jean-Paul; Hassid, Jean-Claude (2017), Dictionnaire latin-français, online ed., prima-elementa.fr
9. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard, Liber exquisiti xenii: Lexikon frühmittelalterlicher Rechtswörter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
10. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
11. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre