stola

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈstɔ.ɫa]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈstɔː.la]^[1]

Forms

stola f (genitive stolae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek στολή (stolḗ, “garment, equipment”), from στέλλω (stéllō, “to make ready”).^[2][1][3] Isidore describes it as a matron's covering passed from the head and right side over the left shoulder.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Ennius, of clothing, as squālidā saeptus stolā “wrapped in a squalid robe”.^[2][5] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant clothing, and a long upper garment, worn at first by anyone, as in Ennius and Ovid.^[2][5] From Varro it was the robe of Roman married women, a mark of respectability, as in Cicero, and a robe worn by either sex in religious settings.^[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a robe, garment, and the stole, the long narrow vestment worn round the neck as a sign of priestly power.^[7] Medieval Latin also used it for state apparel and the archbishop's pallium.^[8] It survives in French étole and Spanish estola, and Old English stole gave English stole; English stola came in 1728.^[1][9]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of clothing.^[2][3]
• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of the matron's robe.^[2][3]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the matron's robe.^[6][3]
• Old English – stole is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. Clothing; a long robe.^[2]
2. The robe of a Roman matron.^[2]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A stole.^[7]
4. (Medieval Latin) State apparel; the archbishop's pallium.^[8]

Word family

• stolātus

Related words

• English stole
• English stola

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b 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