tragula

Forms

trāgula f (genitive trāgulae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin trahō (“to drag, draw”), from an earlier *tragla in which the /g/ of the root was kept before /l/.^[2][3] De Vaan thinks the long /aː/ may be analogical after coāgulum and repāgula, while the OLD compares tēgula beside tegō.^[3][2] That verb goes back to Proto-Italic *traχe/o-; de Vaan finds its closest cognates in Celtic, such as Old Irish tráig (“ebb, beach”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus,^[3] who has the figurative trāgulam in tē inicere, to hurl a javelin at someone, that is, to play a trick on them.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The OLD's earliest literal quotation is from Lucilius, who lists it among hunting and military spears.^[2] It is a spear thrown with a strap: Caesar and Livy use it in battle.^[5][4] Varro uses it of a sledge or drag pulled along the ground by a beast,^[2][4] and Pliny the Elder of a dragnet used by fishermen.^[2][4] A medieval British writer uses it of javelins thrown in battle.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has it in a figurative phrase.^[3][4][7]
• c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius names it among spears.^[2][7]
• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of a sledge.^[2][7]
• c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of a javelin in battle.^[5][4][7]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of a dragnet.^[2][7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A javelin fitted with a throwing strap, used in hunting and war;^[2][4][5] trāgulam in aliquem inicere, to play a trick on someone.^[2][4][5]
2. A kind of sledge or drag.^[2][4]
3. A kind of dragnet.^[2][4]

Word family

• trāgulārius

Related words

• trahō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de