textor

Forms

textor m (genitive textōris, feminine textrīx); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin texō (“to weave”) + -tor.^[2][1] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of texō, which goes back to Proto-Italic *tekse/o- and Proto-Indo-European *teḱ-s- (“to fashion”).^[3] Cognate with Sanskrit तक्षति (tákṣati, “to fashion”) and Hittite takš-zi (“to devise”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,^[3][4] whose Aulularia has the word.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

It means a weaver,^[2][7] in Horace's letters, Martial and Juvenal.^[7] The Digest speaks of the rations of male and female weavers, textōrum et textrīcum.^[7][8] Firmicus Maternus has a weaver of wool.^[8]

British medieval writers used it for a weaver, also as a surname, and in connection with the Cathar heresy.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it in the Aulularia.^[5][4]
• 65–8 BC – Horace uses it in his letters.^[7][4]
• 343/350 AD – Firmicus Maternus uses it of a weaver of wool.^[8][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A weaver.^[2][7]
2. (Medieval Latin) A weaver associated with the Cathar heresy.^[9]

Word family

• textrīnus

Related words

• texō
• textilis
• textūra
• tēla

Usage notes

The feminine is textrīx, a female weaver; the Digest names both.^[7][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e 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 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
9. ^ a b 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