taxillus

Forms

tāxillus m (genitive tāxillī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin tālus (“knucklebone, die”) + -illus, as a diminutive.^[2][3][4] De Vaan notes that, if it is old and not a later analogical form on the model of āla beside axilla (as Ernout and Meillet object), it would show that tālus goes back to Proto-Italic *tā̆kslo-.^[5] Wiktionary reconstructs Proto-Italic *tā̆kslelos for it.^[1]

Cicero held the opposite view, that the diminutive was the original word from which ⟨talus⟩ was made.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Cicero's Orator and in the comic poet Pomponius, meaning a small die.^[6][7][3]

Semantic evolution

Besides the small die, Vitruvius uses it of a small block or peg of wood,^[3][7] and a scholiast on Juvenal of a small stick used for drawing lots.^[7]

In medieval Latin, where it is also spelt tassellus and taxellus, it meant the ankle or heel, after talus, and the fringe or tail of a garment.^[8] English tassel comes from Old French and medieval tassellus; it has been derived, through a Vulgar Latin *tassellus, from taxillus, but the OED doubts this.^[9]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero names it as the source of talus.^[6][3][10]
• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of a small wooden block.^[3][10]
• c. 1300 – English tassel appears, from Old French and medieval Latin tassellus.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A small die for playing.^[2][6][3]
2. A small cube; a small block or peg of wood.^[2][3]
3. A small stick for drawing lots.^[7]
4. (Medieval Latin) The ankle or heel.^[8]
5. (Medieval Latin) The tail or fringe of a garment.^[8]

Related words

• tālus
• English tassel

References

1. ^ a b 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 Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
4. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de