sulphur

Forms

sulphur n (genitive sulphuris); third declension^[1] The OLD enters it as sulpur, also sulphur and sulfur.^[2] De Vaan calls sulpur the best spelling: the manuscripts of Seneca mostly have sulphur, those of Pliny both.^[3]

Etymology

The OLD calls the origin doubtful.^[2] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *solpor and, with a question mark, Proto-Indo-European *solp-r (“fat”);^[3] Szemerényi derived it from ⟨*solpos⟩, earlier ⟨*selpos⟩ “oily substance”, comparing Sanskrit सर्पिस् (sarpíṣ-, “melted butter”), Ancient Greek ὄλπη (ólpē, “oil flask”) and Old High German salba (“ointment”), but the vowel change and the ending are irregular.^[3] Wiktionary thinks it likely related to Proto-Germanic *sweblaz (“sulphur”), perhaps as a wandering word, and calls the spelling with ⟨ph⟩ a Hellenized variant of ⟨sulpur⟩.^[1] Etymonline notes that this spelling wrongly suggests a Greek origin.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Cato,^[3] and Köbler from Ennius.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It is sulphur or brimstone.^[2] It was burnt to purify and fumigate: Tibullus purified a sick girl with pure sulphur, Ovid has a sheep touched by smoking sulphur, and Celsus prescribes fumigation.^[2] It goes with thunder and lightning: Virgil describes a meteor whose track left the places around smoking with sulphur, and Persius an oak split by sacred sulphur.^[2] Wiktionary gives the sense lightning.^[1] Church Latin uses it for brimstone.^[6] English sulfur dates from the late 14th century, through Anglo-French and Old French.^[4]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato.^[3][5]
• 204–169 BC – Ennius.^[5]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil of a meteor's smoking track.^[2][5]
• c. 55–19/18 BC – Tibullus of purification with sulphur.^[2][5]
• late 14th century – English sulphur.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. Sulphur, brimstone;^[2][1][6] burnt as a fumigant.^[2]
2. The sulphur of lightning; lightning.^[2][1]

Related words

• English sulfur

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson