latebra Latin · revision 31007

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=ine-pro *leh₂-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈɫa.tɛ.bra]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈlaː.te.bra]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''latebra''' ''f'' (genitive latebrae); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[m|la|lateō|t=to lie hidden]] with the suffix ⟨-bra⟩, as in [[m|la|tenebrae|t=darkness]]; de Vaan explains its short ⟨e⟩ by the model of ⟨tenebrae⟩.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008) He traces ⟨lateō⟩ to [[itc-pro|*latē-]] and [[ine-pro|*lh₂-to-|t=hidden]], from the root [[ine-pro|*leh₂-]] of [[grc|λανθάνω|tr=lanthánō|t=to escape notice]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Plautus, ''Aulularia'': a miser does not fear that anyone will find his gold, it is so well stowed ''in latebrīs'', in hiding places.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is a hiding place, mostly in the plural, the lair of animals (Lucretius), and a hidden recess, as Lucretius' bodily humours returning to their hiding places.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) It is a refuge, as Horace's sweet retreat that keeps him safe, and by transfer a loophole or subterfuge (Varro).^(OLD 2012) It is a cover for an action, as Cicero's warning against seeking a loophole for perjury, an obscure expression, and in Pliny the Elder the act of hiding and the eclipse of the moon.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ Church Latin glosses it “concealment, subterfuge”.^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of hiding places.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 96–55 BC – Lucretius of lairs and recesses.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 116–27 BC – Varro of a loophole.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero of a pretext for perjury.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 65–8 BC – Horace of a retreat.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A hiding place; a [[m|en|lair]]; a hidden recess.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A refuge, [[m|en|retreat]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A loophole, [[m|en|subterfuge]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # A cover, pretext; an obscure expression.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Concealment; an [[m|en|eclipse]] (of the moon).^(OLD 2012)^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[illatebrō]]

+ * [[latebricola]]

+ * [[latēbrōsus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lateō]]

+ * [[latibulum]]

+ * [[tenebrae]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Döderlein distinguishes ''latebra'', a quiet, out-of-the-way place where one can stay hidden, from [[latibulum]], a hole into which one must creep like an animal.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}