insula Latin · revision 2881

+ {{infobox|confidence=disputed|attested=Naevius}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈĩː.sʊ.ɫa]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈin.su.la]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''īnsula''' ''f'' (genitive īnsulae); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The origin is disputed.^(de Vaan 2008)^(TLL) An old explanation takes it from [[in]] and [[salum]] “the sea”, “what is in the sea”; de Vaan finds this possible in form but a poor description of an island, especially as Indo-European words for “island” seem to have meant river islands.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) He suggests a loanword from an unknown language, the same one that may have given the Celtic and Greek words, which also have /n/ and /s/.^(de Vaan 2008) The TLL rejects that derivation and prefers a borrowing of [[grc|νῆσος|tr=nêsos|t=island]] through an Oscan form.^(TLL)

+

+ Compare [[sga|inis|t=island]], [[cy|ynys|t=island]] and νῆσος.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is found from Naevius onwards,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) who tells how a Roman army crossed to Malta and burned the whole [[m|en|island]].^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It meant an island, whether in the sea, a lake or a river, and ''Insula'' was the name of a quarter of Syracuse.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) In Rome it was also a large building let out in flats, a tenement block, as when Cicero writes that Clodius' block was up for sale.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) Christian writers used it for a temple.^(Gaffiot 2016)

+

+ In Medieval Latin it could also mean a [[m|en|peninsula]]^(DMLBS) and the nave of a church,^(Köbler 2010) and as a place name it stands for Lille and other towns.^(Graesse 1909) It survives as Italian ''isola'', French ''île'', Spanish ''isla'' and Portuguese ''ilha''.^(Wiktionary) English ''isle'' came through Old French in the late 13th century, and ''peninsula'' is ''paeninsula'', “almost an island”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it of Malta.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for a block of flats.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * late 13th century – English ''isle'' comes through Old French.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1530s – English takes ''peninsula'' and ''insulate'' from Latin.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|island]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # A block of flats, [[m|en|tenement]] building.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Ecclesiastical Latin)'' A [[m|en|temple]].^(Gaffiot 2016)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A peninsula.^(DMLBS)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' The [[m|en|nave]] of a church.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[īnsulānus]]

+ * [[īnsulāris]]

+ * [[īnsulārius]]

+ * [[īnsulātus]]

+ * [[īnsulōsus]]

+ * [[paenīnsula]]

+ * [[īnsulēnsis]]

+ * [[īnsulō]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[en|isle]]

+ * [[en|peninsula]]

+ * [[en|insulate]]

+ * [[en|isolate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}