spintria

Forms

spintria m (genitive spintriae); first declension^[1] It is also spelled sphintria and spinthria.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek σφιγκτήρ (sphinktḗr, “band, binding; sphincter”) according to Wiktionary, Köbler and Georges,^[1][5][3] with reference to the anal sphincter.^[1] The OLD compares σφίγκτης (sphínktēs), the form Gaffiot gives.^[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in Tacitus^[5][3] and Suetonius,^[3][4] as the name of a kind of male prostitute.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The word is rare: Gaffiot cites it from Suetonius' lives of Caligula and Tiberius.^[4] Georges explains it as a man who offered himself for others' sexual use.^[3] English spintrian is formed from it.^[1]

Timeline

• 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it.^[5][3]
• c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it in the lives of Tiberius and Caligula.^[4][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A kind of male prostitute.^[6][3][4][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e f Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press