Etymologically
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tectorius

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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

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