nebula Latin · revision 2875

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Plautus|origins=ine-pro *nebʰ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈnɛ.bʊ.ɫa], [ˈnɛ.bʊ.ɫaː]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈnɛː.bu.la], [ˈnɛː.bu.la]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''nebula''' ''f'' (genitive nebulae); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*nefelā-]], [[inh|ine-pro|*nebʰ-e-lo-|t=small cloud]], from the root [[m|ine-pro|*nebʰ-]], which the TLL glosses “to be moist, cloudy”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(TLL)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[wlm|nyfel|t=clouds]], [[grc|νεφέλη|tr=nephélē|t=cloud]], [[non|nifl|t=darkness, haze]] and [[goh|nebul|t=mist, fog]],^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) and with [[sa|नभस्|tr=nábhas|t=mist, sky]].^(TLL)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is found from Plautus onwards.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) In the ''Amphitruo'' Plautus says that mist is made of breath and panting.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It meant [[m|en|mist]] or fog and, in poetry, a cloud, and Lucretius used it for clouds of dust and smoke.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) Ovid and Martial used it for a thin film, and Pliny the Elder for a sea creature that pearl divers dread.^(OLD 2012) Figuratively it meant obscurity or a cloud of confusion, as in Gellius.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) Terence already has its derivative ''nebulo'' “good-for-nothing”.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ In Medieval Latin it was also a [[m|en|wafer]], including the host of the Mass.^(Niermeyer 1976)^(Köbler 2010)^(GMLC) It survives as Romanian ''negură'', Italian ''nebbia'', Spanish ''niebla'' and Portuguese ''névoa''.^(Wiktionary) English took ''nebula'' for a cloud in the 15th century and, about 1730, for a cloudlike patch in the night sky.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it for mist.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it for clouds of dust and smoke.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it for a creature feared by pearl divers.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it for obscurity.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1098 – A Catalan charter uses it for wafers.^(GMLC)

+ * c. 1730 – English uses ''nebula'' in astronomy.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|Mist]], fog.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(poetic)'' A cloud; a cloud (of dust, smoke).^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)

+ # A thin film.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Obscurity, confusion.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A [[m|en|wafer]]; the host.^(Niermeyer 1976)^(Köbler 2010)

+ # ''(New Latin)'' A [[m|en|nebula]] (in astronomy).^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nebulō]]

+ * [[nebulōsus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[imber]]

+ * [[nimbus]]

+ * [[en|nebula]]

+ * [[en|nebulous]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Despite the likeness in sound and meaning, it is not related to [[nubes|alt=nūbēs]] “cloud”.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}