Etymologically
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telonium

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [tɛˈɫoː.ni.ũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [teˈlɔː.ni.um][1]

Forms

telōnium n (genitive telōniī or telōnī); second declension[1] Georges and Gaffiot head it as telōnēum.[2][3] Medieval Latin has many spellings, among them theloneum, toloneum, tolonium and tonleium.[4][5][6][7]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek τελώνιον (telṓnion, “toll house”),[8][3][1] from τελώνης (telṓnēs) with the suffix -ιον (-ion).[1] The variant telōnēum follows τελωνεῖον (telōneîon).[2][5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tertullian (c. 160–220 AD) uses it, in On Idolatry and On Baptism, for a toll booth or custom house.[8][7]

Semantic evolution

The Vulgate has it in the Gospel of Luke for the tax office,[8][3] and Bede quotes the Gospel of Matthew: sedentem in teloneo Matheum, “Matthew sitting at the custom house”.[5] In Medieval Latin it became the toll itself, a tax on the transport and sale of goods, and a general term for all duties on trade and traffic;[4][7] Köbler also gives the senses of a money-changer's table and a tent.[7] Old High German glossed it as zolhus.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it for a custom house.[8][7]
  • 4th century AD – Köbler cites it from Probus.[7]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it in the Gospel of Luke.[8][7]
  • c. 1190 – A St Albans chronicle has the spelling tholoneum.[5]
  • 1278 – A Norwich leet roll has teolonium.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A toll booth, custom house.[8][3][9]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A toll, a tax on the transport and sale of goods.[4][7]
  3. (Medieval Latin) All the duties on trade and traffic together.[4]
  4. (Medieval Latin) A money-changer's table.[7]

Word family

  • telōniārius
  • telōnārius

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e 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
  6. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson