torta

Forms

torta f (genitive tortae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is disputed.^[1] It may be from Latin tortus¹ (“twisted”), used in the feminine as a noun from the phrase torta pānis (“a roll of bread”), after the shape of the loaf,^[1][2][3][4] or it may come from turta (“a kind of pastry”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It appears in the Vulgate (390–406 AD), in the book of Exodus, for a round loaf or flat cake.^[5][6][2]

Semantic evolution

Ecclesiastical Latin uses it for a roll or twisted loaf.^[7] In Medieval Latin it was a round loaf or cake and also a cake of wax;^[8][2] Du Cange quotes French Tourterie from a document of 1355.^[9] Du Cange also records torta for a twisted rod used to bind hedges and for a bundle of flax of a set weight.^[9] Italian and Spanish have torta, and English took torte from French in the 1550s and again, from German, in 1748;^[10] English tart is possibly an alteration of French torte.^[10]

Timeline

• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it for a round loaf.^[5][2]
• late 7th–8th century – The Life of Saint Gall has it.^[2]
• 1355 – French Tourterie appears in a royal ordinance.^[9]
• 1550s – English borrows torte from French.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) A round loaf of bread, a flat cake.^[5][6][7][8]
2. (Medieval Latin) A cake of wax.^[8][2]
3. (Medieval Latin) A twisted rod for binding hedges.^[9]
4. (Medieval Latin) A bundle of flax of a set weight.^[9]

Word family

• tortula

Related words

• English torte

Usage notes

Köbler records a separate medieval torta “millstone” (1331), taken from Old French.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b c d e du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
10. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com