Etymologically
Log in

spinus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 18:47. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈspiː.nʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈspiː.nus][1]

Forms

spīnus f (genitive spīnī or spīnūs); variously declined, second declension, fourth declension[1] It is declined in the second and in the fourth declension: Varro has the ablative spinu.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is a derivative from Latin spīna (“thorn, prickle”).[2][5][1] De Vaan lists it as a variant of the base found in Varro.[6] The base goes back to Proto-Italic *speinā- and Proto-Indo-European *spein-, and de Vaan suggests it may be built on the same basis as spīca.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest record is in Varro (116–27 BC), whose ablative spinu is quoted by the grammarian Charisius;[3][5][7] Virgil uses the word in the Georgics for a blackthorn.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

It was a word for a thorn bush in general,[2] and Lewis & Short and Georges identify it with the blackthorn or sloe.[3][5] Palladius uses it in his work on agriculture.[3][5] A glossary explains it as a tree, the plum.[8]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses the ablative spinu.[3][7]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil has it in the Georgics.[2][3][7]
  • c. 362 AD – Charisius quotes Varro's form.[5][7]
  • end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century AD – Palladius names it in his work on agriculture.[3][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A thorn bush.[2]
  2. In particular, the blackthorn or sloe.[3][5][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften