Etymologically
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sitella

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [sɪˈtɛl.la][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [siˈtɛl.la][1]

Forms

sitella f (genitive sitellae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin situla (“bucket, urn”), a diminutive.[2][3][1] The OLD analyses it as the stem of that noun with the suffix -ella.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found first in Plautus' Casina,[5][2] of the urn from which lots are drawn.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

It was a narrow-necked vessel partly filled with water: the lots were put in and the vessel shaken, and since only one lot could float at the top of the neck, it was drawn out.[2][3] In the assemblies it decided the order in which the tribes voted, and it was also used to hold the voting tablets in a trial.[4][6] Cicero uses sitellam deferre of putting a question about someone to the vote, and Livy writes of the urn being brought so that lots could be drawn.[2][3] Medieval British glossaries use it for a small bucket and for a cheese vat.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it in the Casina.[2][6][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses sitellam deferre.[2][3][5]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy writes of the urn brought for drawing lots.[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An urn from which lots were drawn, especially to fix the order in which the tribes voted; an urn for voting tablets.[4][2][6]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A small bucket;[7] a cheese vat.[7]
  • situla

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c 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