Etymologically
Log in

statua

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 13:11. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈsta.tu.a][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈstaː.tu.a][1]

Forms

statua f (genitive statuae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from statuō “to set up, erect”.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Plautus, whom he dates c. 250–184 BC.[4] Lewis and Short cite Cato for statues of the gods.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant a statue, an image, commonly of metal, as Quintilian notes, and only rarely of the gods, as in Cato and Pliny.[3][2] Cicero often uses statuam pōnere or statuere of setting up a statue in honour of a person.[5] Döderlein explains that imāgō and simulācrum are the general words for any representation, while statua, signum and effigiēs are works of sculpture, and simulācrum and statua copy the whole figure.[6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant an image, statue.[7] Medieval Latin also used it of a measure of length, a man's height.[8] It survives in Italian statua and Spanish estatua, and English statue came through Old French in the late 14th century.[1][9]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has the word.[4]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato speaks of statues of the gods.[3][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses statuam pōnere.[5][4]
  • late 14th century – English statue is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A statue.[2][3]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A man's height as a measure.[8]

Word family

  • statuārius
  • statunculum

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com