tela

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈteː.ɫa]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈtɛː.la]^[1]

Forms

tēla f (genitive tēlae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from ⟨*texla⟩, from texō “to weave”.^[2][3] Wiktionary reconstructs Proto-Italic *tekslā.^[1] De Vaan derives ⟨tēla⟩ from ⟨*teks-lā-⟩ and traces ⟨texō⟩ to Proto-Indo-European *teḱs- (“to fashion”), cognate with Sanskrit तक्षति (tákṣati, “fashions”).^[4] Lewis & Short compare the contraction in āla from ⟨axilla⟩.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are Plautus, of cloth on the loom and of a spider's web.^[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant cloth being woven on a loom, a web, as in Plautus and Cicero; a spider's web; the warp threads of a loom, as in Virgil; and a loom, as in Terence.^[2][3]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it means cloth, web, warp.^[7] British Medieval Latin used tēla vītae for the web of life.^[8] It survives as Italian, Spanish and Catalan tela, French toile and Romanian teară, and French toilette is from toile.^[1][6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of cloth and a spider's web.^[2][6]
• 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of a loom.^[2][6]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of the warp.^[2][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. Cloth on the loom, a web.^[2][5]
2. A spider's web.^[2]
3. The warp.^[2]
4. A loom.^[2]

Word family

• subtīlis

Related words

• texō
• textor
• English toilet

Usage notes

Niermeyer notes Medieval Latin tēla used for tēlum “weapon”.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e 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 Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill