theriaca

Forms

thēriaca f (genitive thēriacae); first declension^[1] Also thēriacē (genitive thēriacēs).^[2][3] Later spellings include thȳriaca, tīriaca and tȳriaca.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek θηριακή (thēriakḗ),^[1][2] the feminine of θηριακός (thēriakós, “of wild beasts”), used as a noun with ἀντίδοτος (antídotos, “antidote”) understood.^[5][6] In Latin it is likewise the feminine of the adjective thēriacus, used as a noun.^[7][8] The Greek adjective comes from θηρίον (thēríon, “wild animal”), a diminutive of θήρ (thḗr, “wild beast”).^[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler and Lewis & Short first find it in Scribonius Largus,^[4][8] dated by Köbler to about 47 AD,^[4] as an antidote against the bite of serpents.^[8][4]

Semantic evolution

It was the antidote against snakebite and, more widely, against poisons in general, in Pliny the Elder and Tertullian.^[8][2] Wiktionary glosses it also as a counter-remedy or panacea.^[1] Bede explains it from the Greek therion, “wild beast”, as a word for venom because it kills like a beast;^[9] British medieval Latin used it for the antidote, also figuratively, and as the name of a plant.^[9]

A form Vulgar Latin *triacula gave Old French triacle, the source of English treacle (about 1300), first a medicinal compound against poison;^[6] theriac was taken again from the Latinized Greek word in the 15th century.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 47 AD – Scribonius Largus names the antidote against snakebite.^[8][4]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder writes of it in his Natural History.^[8][2][4]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses the word.^[2][8][4]
• c. 1300 – English triacle (later treacle), through Old French.^[6]
• mid-15th century – English borrows theriac again from the Latinized Greek.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. An antidote against the bite of serpents or against poison, theriac.^[8][7][3][2]
2. A panacea, remedy.^[1][9]
3. (Medieval Latin) Serpent's venom.^[9]
4. (Medieval Latin) The name of a plant.^[9]

Related words

• thēriacus
• English treacle
• English theriac

Usage notes

The neuter plural Thēriaca was the title of a work of Macer on antidotes against the bites of venomous animals, cited by Charisius.^[3][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
3. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Jeanneau, Gérard; Woitrain, Jean-Paul; Hassid, Jean-Claude (2017), Dictionnaire latin-français, online ed., prima-elementa.fr
6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ 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