tornator

Forms

tornātor m (genitive tornātōris, feminine tornātrīx); third declension^[1] British medieval sources also spell it turnator.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin tornō (“to turn on a lathe”) + -tor.^[1][3][4] The verb comes from tornus (“lathe”), borrowed from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos, “turning lathe”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Firmicus Maternus is the first to use it,^[4] for a turner, one who shapes things on a lathe.^[5][3]

Semantic evolution

A Late Latin word,^[2][1] it lived on in medieval Latin, where it could mean a potter as well as a wood-turner.^[6] In British sources it is anyone working at a lathe, wheel or similar turning device, and it became a surname.^[2]

Timeline

• 343/350 AD – Firmicus Maternus uses it for a turner.^[5][4]
• 1156 – A charter of Henry II allows nuns to keep a turner of their own in his forest.^[2]
• 1222 – A Willelmus turnator is recorded in the Domesday of St Paul's.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A turner, one who works at a lathe.^[5][3][2]
2. (Medieval Latin) A potter.^[6]

Related words

• tornus
• tornatilis
• tornatura

Usage notes

Latin glossaries render it with Greek τορνευτής (torneutḗs).^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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
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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre