Etymologically
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spira

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈspiː.ra][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈspiː.ra][1]

Forms

spīra f (genitive spīrae); first declension[1] Also spelled spēra in Manilius and Statius.[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek σπεῖρα (speîra, “coil, twist, wreath”).[2][1][3][4] Köbler and Wiktionary connect it with Proto-Indo-European *sper- (“to twist, turn”).[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Ennius,[3] who in the Annals uses it of a military unit: spīrās legiōnibus nexit.[2]

Semantic evolution

Its main meaning is a coil or winding: Accius writes of Pallas drawing the coils of snakes, and Virgil and Ovid use it of serpents;[2][5] Pacuvius has coils of rope of esparto.[2] Pliny the Elder uses it of coils of hair and of the grain of wood, and Lactantius of the coils of the intestines.[2][5][4] It is the base of a column in Vitruvius,[2] a kind of twisted pastry in Cato,[2] and perhaps a band or clasp in Lucilius.[2] Manilius uses it of the circle of the equator.[2][5] The OLD also records it for a sodality in some mystery cults, in an inscription.[2] In medieval Latin from Britain it is a coil or circle, a coiled rope or cable, and the coil of a serpent.[6] Italian spira continues it.[5]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of a military unit.[2][3]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato gives a recipe for the pastry.[2][3]
  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius uses it of coils of rope.[2][3]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of a snake's coils.[5][3]
  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of the base of a column.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A coil, fold, twist (of a snake, of rope, of hair).[2][4][5]
  2. The base of a column.[2][5]
  3. A kind of twisted pastry.[2][5]
  4. Perhaps a band or clasp.[2]
  5. A circular or spiral mark, a whorl; the circle of the equator.[2][5]
  6. A military unit.[2]
  7. A sodality in some mystery cults.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ 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