Etymologically
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tomentum

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [toːˈmɛn.tũː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [toˈmɛn.tum][1]

Forms

tōmentum n (genitive tōmentī); second declension[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.[2] Walde and Hofmann and Pokorny derived it from *towementom, from the root Proto-Indo-European *tewh₂- (“to swell”) of tumeō, perhaps through a causative “to stuff”.[2][1][3] De Vaan notes that it could come from an older *tōmen < *teuh₂-mn̥, or be built on verb forms, but no such verb survives in Latin, which weakens the explanation.[2] Ernout and Meillet hesitantly suggested tondeō “to shear”.[2] Isidore of Seville derived it from swelling in the thread or the cloth.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Varro.[2] Köbler dates Varro 116–27 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant flock or similar material for stuffing cushions and mattresses, wool, hair, feathers or straw, and tōmentum Circēnse was a stuffing of rushes for the seats at the Circus.[3][6][7] Tacitus and Suetonius use it, and Pliny the Elder names the materials.[6]

In Medieval Latin it meant padding, especially the woolly nap sheared from cloth.[8] English tomentum is a borrowing of it.[1]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it.[2][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder describes stuffing materials.[6][5]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it.[6][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Stuffing for cushions and mattresses, flock.[3]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Padding; the nap sheared from cloth.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  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