Etymologically
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tonsa

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈtõː.sa], [ˈtõː.saː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈtɔn.sa], [ˈtɔn.sa][1]

Forms

tōnsa f (genitive tōnsae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It has no good etymology.[2][1][3] Walde and Hofmann and Pokorny derived it from tondeō “to shear”, which de Vaan finds semantically senseless, and Lewis and Short suggested tundō “to beat”.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Ennius, quoted by Festus, who speaks of holding an oar on the great sea.[2][4] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant an oar, a poetic word used mostly in the plural, as in Lucretius and Virgil, and in the singular in Valerius Flaccus.[3][4][6] Ennius also has tōnsilla “mooring-stake”.[2]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it.[2][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it in the plural.[6][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it.[6][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An oar.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.