Etymologically
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ulva

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈʊɫ.wa][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈul.va][1]

Forms

ulva f (genitive ulvae); first declension[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.[2][3] The OLD tentatively compares alga (“seaweed”);[2] Wiktionary suggests Proto-Indo-European *h₂el- (“to grow”),[1] and Köbler, with a question mark, Pokorny's root Proto-Indo-European *el- (“to rot, be mouldy”).[3][4] Isidore of Seville thought it was named from the marshy moisture in which it grows.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cato is the first to use it, in his book on farming.[3][6][7]

Semantic evolution

In the poets it is the sedge of marshes and riverbanks:[2][6] Virgil has ulva palustris, and Horace a boar fattened on sedge and reeds.[8] Pliny the Elder uses it in his books on trees and plants.[6][9] Medieval glossaries in Britain explain it as a marsh plant and give Old English and French equivalents,[10] and Italian took it over as ulva.[1]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it in his book on farming.[3][6][7]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it in the Georgics and the Eclogues.[6][9][3]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it in the Metamorphoses.[7][6][3]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it in the Natural History.[6][9][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Sedge; a general name for grass-like or rush-like aquatic plants.[2][6][11][10]

Word family

  • ulvōsus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
  5. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911)., p. 17.9.100
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ Lewis, Charlton T. (1890), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: American Book Company
  9. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  10. ^ a b 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
  11. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn