scutum Latin · revision 2782

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=ine-pro *skoi-to-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈskuː.tũː]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈskuː.tum]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''scūtum''' ''n'' (genitive scūtī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Turpilius has a masculine ''scutus''.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*skoito-|t=shield]], [[inh|ine-pro|*skoi-to-|t=piece of wood, sheath, shield]], a derivative of the root *skei-, which de Vaan takes as a shorter form of [[ine-pro|*skid-|t=to split]], the root of [[scindo|alt=scindō]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)^(Köbler 2010) Cognate with [[sga|scíath]], [[cy|ysgwyd]] and [[br|skoed]] “shield”, [[prg|staytan|t=shield]], [[lt|skietas|alt=skiẽtas|t=reed of a loom]], [[cu|щитъ|tr=štitŭ|t=shield]], [[ru|щит|tr=ščit]], [[pl|szczyt|t=top, summit]], [[ang|scēað|t=sheath]], [[goh|sceida|t=sheath]] and [[non|skíð|t=billet, snow-shoe]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Wiktionary notes an alternative derivation from [[ine-pro|*(s)kewH-|t=to cover, protect]],^(Wiktionary) which is the comparison the OLD makes with Sanskrit “covers” and with [[obscurus|alt=obscūrus]].^(OLD 2012) Lewis and Short, Georges and Gaffiot derive it from [[grc|σκῦτος|tr=skûtos|t=leather, hide]], as a shield covered in hide, an explanation the modern etymologies do not follow.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)^(Gaffiot 2016) Isidore of Seville explained it from [[excutio|alt=excutere]] “to shake off”, because it shakes off blows.^(TLL)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is found from Plautus onwards,^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) who says that soldiers are allowed to throw away their [[m|en|shield|alt=shields]] and run from the enemy.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was properly the large oblong shield of the Roman heavy infantry, made of boards glued together and covered with linen and hide, as against the round metal [[clipeus]], and Livy records that the army took up the ''scutum'' in place of the ''clipeus'' when soldiers began to receive pay.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) Caesar mentions shields made of bark or wickerwork, and to throw away one's shield was the greatest disgrace.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Petronius has the proverb ''per scutum per ocream'', “by shield and by greave”, by every means, and Florus reports that Fabius was called the shield of the empire.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ In the Middle Ages it named the unit formed by a [[m|en|knight]] with his retainers, a knight's fee, military service in the host, and the ''scutum bellicum'', the ranks of the feudal hierarchy in Germany.^(Niermeyer 1976)^(Köbler 2010) It also came to mean a [[m|en|coat of arms]] and a shield-shaped diagram,^(DMLBS) and a coin bearing a shield, whence French ''écu'', Italian ''scudo'' and Spanish and Portuguese ''escudo''.^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline) English borrowed those coin names, and in 1687 Hevelius named the constellation Scutum after the shield of John Sobieski.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of throwing away one's shield in flight.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 50 BC – Caesar describes Gallic shields of bark and wicker.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it figuratively for a defence.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 59 BC–17 AD – Livy records the change from ''clipeus'' to ''scutum''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * before 66 AD – Petronius has the proverb ''per scutum per ocream''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 120 AD – Florus calls Fabius the shield of the empire.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 822/823 – Niermeyer's earliest medieval citation, for a feudal unit.^(Niermeyer 1976)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1640s – English borrows Italian ''scudo'', a coin, from the medieval Latin sense.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1687 – Hevelius names the constellation [[en|Scutum]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The oblong wooden [[m|en|shield]] of the Roman heavy infantry; any shield.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(by metonymy)'' Shield-bearing soldiers.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A defence, a protection.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A [[m|en|knight]] with his retainers as a military unit; a knight's fee; feudal military service.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A [[m|en|coat of arms]]; a shield-shaped diagram.^(DMLBS)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A coin bearing a shield.^(Wiktionary)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[scūtārius]]

+ * [[scūtātus]]

+ * [[scūtulum]]

+ * [[scūtellum]]

+ * [[scūtāle]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[scūtāneus]]

+ * [[scūtigerulus]]

+ * [[scindō]]

+ * [[en|escutcheon]]

+ * [[en|escudo]]

+ * [[en|scudo]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Döderlein and Lewis and Short set the ''scutum'', the large body-covering shield, against the round [[clipeus]] and the small [[parma]] of cavalry, and Vegetius makes the same distinction.^(Döderlein 1874)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}