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velamen

Etymology and origin of the Latin word velamen

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Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Virgil
Ultimate origin
Latin (vēlum)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin velo
Latin velamen

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [weːˈɫaː.mɛn][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [veˈlaː.men][1]

Forms

vēlāmen n (genitive vēlāminis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin vēlō (“to cover, veil”) + -men, from vēlum “cloth, sail, veil”.[2][1] De Vaan reconstructs ⟨vēlum⟩ as Proto-Italic ⟨*wekslo-⟩, perhaps from a root “to weave” seen in Old Irish figid (“weaves”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short and Gaffiot cite Virgil's Aeneid, and Köbler's earliest source is Ovid.[4][5][6] Köbler dates Virgil 70–19 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant any covering, especially clothing, a garment, robe, veil, and also the hide of animals and the skin of plants, as in Virgil, and Lewis & Short call it poetic and post-Augustan.[2][4][5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it means veil, cloak.[7] Medieval Latin used it for a nun's veil, vēlāmen sacrum, an altar cloth, and tutelage, protection.[8][6]

Timeline

  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it.[4][6]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A covering; a garment, veil.[2][4]
  2. A hide, skin.[5]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A nun's veil; an altar cloth; protection.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Velamen.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/velamen. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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