Etymologically
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stallum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈstal.lũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈstal.lum][1]

Forms

stallum n (genitive stallī); second declension[1] Also ⟨estallum⟩, ⟨staullum⟩, ⟨staulum⟩ and ⟨stolum⟩, and the masculine ⟨stallus⟩ and feminine ⟨stalla⟩.[2][3][4]

Etymology

Its origin is disputed.[1][2] Wiktionary and Conte take it as borrowed from Frankish *stall (“stall, stable”),[1][5] and Etymonline gives a Germanic source, comparing Old High German stal (“standing place”).[6] Niermeyer and Köbler derive it instead from stabulum (“stall, stable”),[2][3] of which Du Cange thought it a contracted form;[7] Wiktionary allows that it may come from that word or be a blend of the two.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source for it is a charter of 1036.[3]

Semantic evolution

Its first medieval sense is a place where one stands or sits, above all a trader's stall at a market or fair.[7][2] Rigord's chronicle, under the year 1183, has covered merchants' stalls built between the outer wall and the market halls so that trade need not stop in rainy weather,[7] and a charter of Philip Augustus of 1195 for Saint-Quentin lets anyone who comes to the market set up his stall wherever he finds empty ground and pay his stallage.[7] It also came to mean the stallage itself, the dues paid for a stall.[2] In English sources the masculine ⟨stallus⟩ is also a stall for cattle or horses in a stable.[4]

In churches it was the seat of a monk or canon in the choir:[7][2][8] a statute of Raymond, count of Toulouse, and a papal legate forbids secular canons to have a stall in the choir or a voice in the chapter unless they are in holy orders, and Ralph de Diceto tells of a dean assigning a man a stall in the choir and a seat in the chapter.[7][4] Niermeyer also gives residence,[2] and Du Cange a plot of ground or base, as of a mill.[7] From the choir stall came Medieval Latin īnstallō, “to install”, the source of English install.[6][5]

Timeline

  • 1036 – Köbler's first source, a charter, uses it.[3]
  • 1191 – An Osney charter names stalls in Oxford.[4]
  • 1195 – A charter of Philip Augustus for Saint-Quentin lets traders set up stalls.[7]
  • 1224 – A charter uses it of the ground of a mill.[7]
  • early 15th century – English install is recorded, from Medieval Latin.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) A stall in a market, a booth.[2][7][1][4]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Stallage, dues paid for a market stall.[2][1]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A choir stall.[2][7][8][1]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A stall in a stable.[4]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A residence.[2][1]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e f 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
  5. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson