Etymologically
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sucinum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈsuː.kɪ.nũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈsuː.t͡ʃi.num][1]

Forms

sūcinum n (genitive sūcinī); second declension[1] It is also spelled succinum, which Georges rejects.[2][3][1]

Etymology

The origin is disputed.[4][5] Lewis & Short, Georges and Wiktionary derive it within Latin, as from Latin sūcus (“juice, sap”) with the suffix ⟨-inum⟩.[2][3][1] The OLD takes it as probably a foreign loanword, comparing Lithuanian sākas (“resin”), perhaps reshaped after sūcus;[4] Köbler likewise places its origin in northern Europe.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Pliny the Elder,[5] who discusses amber at length in the 37th book of the Natural History.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

It named amber, which in antiquity came mostly from the Baltic;[4] the usual word for it was otherwise electrum.[2][3] Tacitus uses it in the Germania,[3][6] and in the plural sūcina meant pieces of amber or amber jewellery, in Pliny, Martial and Juvenal.[4][3][6]

Medieval writers kept the word: Aldhelm and Bede have it, and glossaries render it by Old English glæres or explain it as “the sap of a tree” or “a stone that draws iron”.[7]

Timeline

  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder discusses amber under this name.[3][6][5]
  • 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses the plural for amber jewellery.[3][6][5]
  • c. 67–c. 127 AD – Juvenal uses the plural for amber objects.[3][6][5]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it in the Germania.[3][6][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Amber.[4][2]
  2. (plural) Pieces of amber; amber jewellery.[4][3]

Word family

  • sūcinācius
  • sūcinus

Usage notes

Pliny gives electrum as another name for amber.[2][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press