Etymologically
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viola

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈwi.ɔ.ɫa][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈviː.o.la][1]

Forms

viola f (genitive violae); first declension[1]

Etymology

The OLD calls it probably cognate with Ancient Greek ἴον (íon, “violet”), earlier with initial ⟨ϝ⟩.[2][1] Wiktionary and Etymonline think both probably come from a pre-Indo-European Mediterranean substrate language, and Köbler, comparing the Greek word, calls it a borrowing from a Mediterranean language.[1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cato.[4]

Semantic evolution

It is the name of several fragrant spring flowers, distinguished by colour;[2][1] Wiktionary names the sweet violet and the wallflower.[2][1] Virgil's Eclogues and Pliny the Elder have it of the flower.[5] Violets were used to deck graves: Ovid writes that the dead ask little, a tile with garlands and scattered violets.[2] Collectively it means a bed of violets: Cicero asks whether someone thought he was speaking of being among violets or roses.[5] It is also the colour violet: Virgil has the purple of the dark violet shining in the petals of a flower.[2] English violet comes from it through Old French, from about 1300.[3]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato mentions it.[4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of a bed of violets.[5][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil of the colour violet.[2][4]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid of violets on graves.[2][4]
  • c. 1300 – English violet.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A violet or a similar fragrant spring flower; the wallflower.[2][5][1]
  2. The colour violet.[2][5]

References

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