stiria

Forms

stīria f (genitive stīriae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[2][1] De Vaan sets up Proto-Italic *stī/eir-(lā-) and regards stīlla (“drop”) as a diminutive of the headword, although the headword itself is attested only in Imperial Latin.^[2] Walde–Hofmann and Pokorny compare Germanic and Baltic words meaning “stiff”, such as Lithuanian stỹrti (“to become stiff”) and Old Norse stira (“to be(come) rigid, stiff”), but de Vaan doubts that “stiff” was the starting point, since the word may have referred to the shape of drops and icicles.^[2] Wiktionary mentions a suggested source in Proto-Indo-European *ster- (“stiff”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Virgil uses it in the Georgics for an icicle.^[3][2][4]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short describe it as poetic and post-Augustan;^[3] Pliny the Elder, Martial, Claudian and Tertullian use it.^[3] Wiktionary also gives the senses “ice drop” and “hoarfrost”.^[1]

Timeline

• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it in the Georgics.^[3][4]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it.^[3][4]
• 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses it.^[3][4]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it in De pallio.^[3][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. An icicle; a frozen drop.^[5][3]
2. Hoarfrost.^[1]

Word family

• stiriacus
• stīricidium

Related words

• stīlla

Usage notes

The capitalised Stīria is the name of an island near the coast of Cilicia in Pliny the Elder.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press