tribulum

Forms

trībulum n (genitive trībulī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin terō (“to rub; to thresh”) + -bulum (“instrumental suffix”), from the stem ⟨trī-⟩ of the verb.^[2][3][1] De Vaan files it under ⟨terō⟩, which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub”), with a present *treh₁-i-.^[3] Wiktionary takes the suffix back to Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom.^[1] Cognates of the verb include Ancient Greek τείρω (teírō, “to oppress, distress, weaken”) and Ancient Greek τρίβω (tríbō, “to rub, wear out”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Varro is the first to have it, for a threshing sledge; in On the Latin Language he spells it trivolum.^[3][2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

The tribulum was a wooden board studded underneath with flints or iron teeth, which draught animals dragged over the ears to thresh out the grain.^[2][4][6] Columella has a feminine form trībula,^[2][4] and the Vulgate uses the word in the books of Chronicles.^[4] In Medieval Latin, British records use it for a threshing sledge or a flail.^[7]

From the verb trībulō “to press”, perhaps also “to thresh”, Christian writers made trībulātiō “affliction”, the source of the English word tribulation.^[8]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro names it, both in On the Latin Language and in On Agriculture.^[2][4][5]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it in the Georgics.^[4][5]
• 1st century AD – Columella has the feminine trībula.^[2][4][5]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it.^[4][5]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it in 1 Chronicles.^[4][5]
• 1286 – An English record has the form thriplos for two threshing implements.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A threshing sledge, a board set with flints or iron teeth on its underside.^[2][4]
2. (Medieval Latin) A flail.^[7]

Word family

• trībulō

Related words

• English tribulation

Usage notes

It is not to be confused with tribulus “caltrop”.^[1]

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 d 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b c 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
8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com