Etymologically
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spuma

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈspuː.ma][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈspuː.ma][1]

Forms

spūma f (genitive spūmae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *spoimā- (“foam”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *spoHi-m- (“foam”).[2] De Vaan explains the forms of the other languages as derivatives in *-m- and *-n- of a root Proto-Indo-European *spoHi- or *speh₃i-, in which the *-i- may be a present suffix; alternatively, with Matasović, a neuter stem in *-mn-.[2] Cognate with Sanskrit फेन (phéna-, “foam”), Lithuanian spáinė (“foam”), Old Prussian spoayno (“foam”), Old English fām (“foam”) and Old High German feim (“foam”).[2][3] Lewis & Short derived it from spuō (“to spit”).[4] Wiktionary relates it to pūmex (“pumice”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Ennius, who says of a horse that it drives out white foam.[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

It is foam on water, especially the sea: Cicero mentions the Venus born from the foam.[3] It is froth at the mouth of animals and people, and the froth of other liquids;[3][4] Varro reports physicians who call milk the foam of blood.[3][4] Technical phrases name substances: spūma argentī, litharge, which Virgil names among remedies for sheep, and spūma nitrī, which Ovid lists among cosmetics.[3] Martial knows it as a hair dye, and Pliny the Elder uses it of the slime of snails.[3] Church Latin glosses it foam.[6]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius of a horse's foam.[3][2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the sea foam from which Venus was born.[3][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil names spūma argentī.[3][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder of the slime of snails.[3][5]
  • late 14th century – English spume is borrowed from Latin, partly through Old French.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Foam, froth, of the sea, of the mouth or of other liquids.[3][4][6][1]
  2. spūma argentī, litharge, lead monoxide.[3]
  3. spūma nitrī, a soda or potash salt used as a cosmetic or caustic.[3]
  4. A substance used as a hair dye.[3]
  5. The slime of snails; slime in general.[3][1]

Word family

  • pūmex
  • English spume
  • English foam

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com