tectorius

Forms

tēctōrius (feminine tēctōria, neuter tēctōrium); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin tegō (“to cover”) + -tōrius;^[2] Wiktionary analyses it as tēctor (“plasterer”) with -ius.^[1][3] The verb goes back to Proto-Italic *teg-e/o- (“to cover”) and Proto-Indo-European *(s)teg-e/o- (“to cover”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus (c. 250–184 BC) has paniculum tectorium, a tuft of reed for thatching, in the Miles gloriosus (18),^[4][5][6] and Cato uses the neuter tectorium for a cover.^[4][5] De Vaan dates the adjective in the sense “of plaster, stucco” from Varro.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Its usual sense was the coating of walls, ceilings and floors: opus tectorium was plasterwork or stucco, and Cicero's laws forbade adorning a tomb with it.^[4][2][6] Pliny the Elder speaks of an ink for staining walls (atramentum tectorium) and of plasterers' brushes.^[4][6] The neuter tēctōrium became a noun for plaster, stucco or fresco painting,^[4][5] and was used figuratively of a cosmetic.^[5] In New Latin it means covering.^[1]

Conte compares Italian tettoia (“shed roof”).^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of thatch.^[4][7]
• 234–149 BC – Cato uses the neuter for a cover.^[4][7]
• 116–27 BC – Varro has opus tectorium, plasterwork.^[4][3][7]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the decoration of a tomb.^[4][7]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder writes of plasterers' brushes.^[4][7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Used for covering; for thatching.^[4][5]
2. Of or used for plaster and stucco work;^[2][4] opus tectorium, plasterwork, stucco.^[2][4]

Word family

• tēctōrium

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d 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 d e f g h i j k l m Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de