tholus

Forms

tholus m (genitive tholī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek θόλος (thólos, “vaulted building, dome”).^[2][3][1][4] Köbler connects the Greek word with the Indo-European root *dʰel- (“vault, hollow”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Varro's work on farming, of a round, domed building.^[2][5][6][4]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it named a dome or vaulted roof, especially that of a temple, and the round building it covered.^[2][3][5] Vitruvius uses it as an architectural term,^[3][6] and in Virgil and later poets votive offerings are hung from the tholi of temples.^[3][5] Martial applies it to the imperial palace, and Ammianus speaks of the tholi of the baths, the vaulted sweating rooms.^[5][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a rotunda or dome,^[7] and in British Medieval Latin a dome or a domed finial on a roof, tower or spire.^[8]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of a round building with a dome.^[2][4]
• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of a dome.^[3][4]
• 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses it of the emperor's palace.^[5][4]
• c. 390 AD – Ammianus speaks of the vaulted rooms of the baths.^[5][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A round building or hall with a domed roof, a rotunda.^[2][3]
2. A dome, cupola or vault, especially of a temple, where offerings were hung.^[3][5][9]
3. (Medieval Latin) A domed finial on a roof, tower or spire.^[8]

Related words

• fornix
• testūdō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
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 c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier