virgatus

Forms

virgātus (feminine virgāta, neuter virgātum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin virga (“twig, rod; stripe”) + -ātus (“adjective suffix”).^[2][1] The origin of virga is uncertain; de Vaan finds only Germanic words such as Old Norse visk (“wisp”) and Old High German wisc (“wisp”) close enough to make a connection likely.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Catullus,^[4] of baskets made of twigs (virgātī calathiscī).^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Since virga also meant a coloured stripe, the adjective came to mean “striped”.^[5] Virgil writes Gallī … virgātīs lūcent sagulīs, “the Gauls gleam in striped cloaks” (Aeneid 8.660); Propertius has striped trousers, and Seneca and Silius Italicus use it of the tiger's stripes;^[2][6] Valerius Flaccus applies it to brides in striped clothes.^[2][6]

In Medieval Latin it was used of striped cloth, which church statutes forbade to clerics, as in a Scottish council of the 13th century^[7] and statutes of Pope Innocent IV and of the church of Girona.^[8] Du Cange compares Italian vergato.^[8]

Timeline

• 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus uses it of wicker baskets.^[2][4]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of the striped cloaks of the Gauls.^[2][4]
• 4 BC–AD 65 – Seneca uses it of striped tigers.^[2][4]
• 13th century – Scottish church statutes forbid clerics striped cloth.^[7]
• 1274 – Statutes of the church of Girona list striped tunics among forbidden clothing.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Made of twigs, wicker.^[2][9]
2. Striped, having bands of colour; wearing striped clothes.^[2][5]

Related words

• virga
• virgātor
• virgētum
• virgeus
• vīrgidēmia

References

1. ^ a b c d 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. ^ 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press