Etymologically
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umbo

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈʊm.boː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈum.bo][1]

Forms

umbō m (genitive umbōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *omb-n-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃nbʰ-n- (“hub, navel”), either an Italic formation from a root noun or an innovation shared with Germanic.[2][1] Cognate with Old High German ambon (“belly”).[2] umbilīcus “navel” and Ancient Greek ὀμφαλός (omphalós, “navel, boss”) are from the same root, as is English navel.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Ennius, whose shield-boss rings with spear shafts.[2][5][3] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It was the boss of a shield, and by synecdoche a shield, as Virgil's men who wield shields.[3][6] By transfer it meant any protuberance, as the bosses of a gem in Pliny and a jutting rock.[3] It was also the bunch formed by the folds of the toga across the chest, and so the toga itself, as in Persius and Martial.[3][6]

English umbo “boss of a shield” was borrowed in 1721, and later used it for other round projections.[4]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius' shield-boss rings with spears.[3][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of a shield.[6][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of the bosses of a gem.[3][5]
  • 1721 – English umbo is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The boss of a shield; a shield.[3][6]
  2. A protuberance, knob.[3]
  3. The fold of the toga across the chest; the toga.[3][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.