Etymologically
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sudarium

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [suːˈdaː.ri.ũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [suˈdaː.ri.um][1]

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

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