stator

Forms

stator m (genitive statōris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin stō (“to stand”) + -tor, according to de Vaan, who lists it among the derivatives of that verb,^[2] and Wiktionary.^[1] The OLD instead derives it from Latin sistō (“to cause to stand, set up”) + -tor,^[3] and Gaffiot derives the epithet of Jupiter from sistō and the word for an attendant from stō.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan records it from Varro on, in the sense “one who establishes”.^[2] The OLD quotes Varro explaining the name Stator from the power of establishing, and Cicero calling on Jupiter as the Stator of the city and the empire.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word had two uses, which the OLD treats as separate words.^[3] As a cult title it was given above all to Jupiter, and in the plural to other gods;^[3][5] Velleius applies it to Mars as well.^[5] In the Priapea it is used jokingly of the sexual organ of Priapus.^[3]

As a common noun it named an official servant of a provincial governor who carried messages;^[3][5] Cicero's letters mention governors' statores sent with letters.^[3][5] Later such attendants served the emperor and army commanders, apparently with wider duties, and inscriptions name a stator Augusti and soldiers of the statores.^[3] In Medieval Latin Niermeyer records it for a member of a garrison.^[6]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro explains the title Stator.^[3][7]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero invokes Jupiter Stator and mentions governors' attendants in his letters.^[3][7]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy reports a vow of a temple to Jupiter Stator.^[3][7]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca explains the name: everything stands by Jupiter's favour.^[3][7]
• before 66 AD – Petronius names statores beside slaves.^[3][7]
• 1058 – Köbler records a medieval use in a source he cites as Rosell.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. An official attendant of a provincial governor who served as a messenger; later an attendant of the emperor or of army commanders.^[3][5]
2. One who establishes or upholds, especially as a cult title of Jupiter (Iuppiter Stator).^[3][5]
3. (Medieval Latin) A member of a garrison.^[6]

Usage notes

The OLD numbers the attendant (stator¹) and the title of Jupiter (stator²) as two words, deriving the second from the same formation as the first.^[3] Gaffiot explains Jupiter's title as the god who halts those in flight.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
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 Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de