sudarium

Forms

sūdārium n (genitive sūdāriī or sūdārī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin sūdō (“to sweat”) + -ārium,^[2][3] or, in Wiktionary's analysis, sūdor (“sweat”) with the same suffix.^[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Catullus is the first author;^[5] he speaks of napkins from Saetabis.^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

It was a cloth carried on the person for wiping the face, a handkerchief or napkin:^[2][4] Quintilian speaks of wiping the brow with a white sūdārium,^[3][4] Petronius of wiping the hands with one,^[3] and Suetonius of holding one before the face.^[3] In the Vulgate a face is bound with a sūdārium.^[3]

Medieval Latin used it above all for the cloth wrapped round the head of the dead,^[6][7] and also for cloths used in handling liturgical vessels.^[7] Bede uses it of the servant who hid his master's money in a napkin.^[7] English took it about 1600, especially for Saint Veronica's cloth, on which the face of Christ was believed to be imprinted;^[8] Middle English already had sudary.^[8]

Timeline

• 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus uses it of napkins.^[4][5]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian mentions wiping the brow with one.^[3][4][5]
• c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it several times.^[4][5]
• mid-14th century – Middle English has the form sudary.^[8]
• c. 1600 – English borrows sudarium.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A cloth for wiping sweat from the face, a handkerchief, napkin.^[2][4]
2. (Medieval Latin) A cloth wrapped round the head of a corpse, a shroud.^[6][7]
3. (Medieval Latin) A cloth for handling liturgical vessels.^[7]

Word family

• sūdāriolum

Related words

• sūdor
• sūdō

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b c d e 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
8. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com