tribulis

Forms

tribūlis m (genitive tribūlis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin tribus (“tribe”) + -ūlis.^[2][1] De Vaan traces tribus to Proto-Italic *triþu- (“tripartite entity”) and Proto-Indo-European *tri-dʰh₁-u- (“tripartite division”), following Weiss; compare Umbrian trifu (“district”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Terence.^[3][4] Lewis & Short cite it first from the Adelphoe.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It is a member of the same tribe as someone, a fellow tribesman: Cicero writes of “your fellow tribesman”.^[5][2] Livy and Horace also use it.^[5] Martial uses it of a poor man, a landless man registered only by his tribe.^[2][5]

Timeline

• 190–159 BC – Terence uses it.^[5][3][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of fellow tribesmen.^[5][2][4]
• 40–102/103 AD – Martial of a poor man.^[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fellow tribesman, a member of the same tribe.^[2][5][1]
2. A poor man, one of the lower class.^[2][5][1]

Word family

• contribūlis

Related words

• tribus
• tribūnus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press