Etymologically
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stello

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈsteːl.loː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈstɛl.lo][1]

Forms

stēllō (present infinitive stēllāre, perfect active stēllāvī, supine stēllātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin stēlla (“star”) + -ō.[2][1][3] The OLD allows that it may instead be a back-formation from stēllātus (“starry”).[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

At first it is found only in the present participle stēllāns, “starry”:[4] Lucretius writes caelō stēllante, “in the starry sky”.[4]

Semantic evolution

The participle was poetic: Cicero in his verse, Virgil, Ovid and Valerius Flaccus use it of the starry sky and of night.[4] It was transferred to things that glitter, such as the jewels of a peacock's tail in Ovid,[4] the flight of glow-worms in Pliny the Elder,[4] and gleaming arms in Ammianus.[4]

Finite forms of the transitive verb, “to set with stars”, appear only after Augustus and are rare:[4] Pliny the Elder says that certain gems are marked with stars in the number and arrangement of the Hyades,[5][4] and Martianus Capella uses it of the sky.[3][6] Symmachus uses it figuratively.[5][6] English stellate comes from its participle stēllātus.[7]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius has caelō stēllante.[4][8]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses stēllāns of the sky.[4][8]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses the finite verb of gems.[5][4][8]
  • c. 340–402 AD – Symmachus uses it figuratively.[5][8]
  • c. 1500 – English stellate, from the participle stēllātus, is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (intransitive, mostly in the present participle) To be set with stars;[4][1] stēllāns, starry.[4][1]
  2. (intransitive, transferred) To glitter, gleam.[4]
  3. (transitive) To set with stars, furnish with star-like points of light.[2][3][6]
  4. (figurative) To stud, adorn.[6][5]
  • stēlliō
  • English stellate

Usage notes

Georges and Gaffiot also record stēllō as a spelling of stēlliō, the name of a kind of lizard, cited from the grammarian Caper.[5][3][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de