vellus Latin · revision 31421

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=116–27 BC, Varro|origins=ine-pro *uelh₃-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈwɛl.lʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈvɛl.lus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vellus''' ''n'' (genitive velleris); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of [[m|la|vellō|t=to pluck, pull out]], and reports Stüber's view that it is one of the late s-stem nouns, like [[m|la|pondus|t=weight]] beside [[m|la|pendeō|t=to hang]];^(de Vaan 2008) the OLD reconstructs it as ⟨*u̯el-nes-⟩ and compares ⟨vellō⟩.^(OLD 2012) He traces the verb to [[itc-pro|*weln-e/o-]] and [[ine-pro|*uelh₃-|t=to strike]].^(de Vaan 2008) The older connection with [[m|la|lāna|t=wool]] and [[ine-pro|*h₂ulh₁-neh₂-|t=wool]] was rejected by Schrijver but is kept by Meiser.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Varro already derived the fleece from plucking, since shepherds plucked the wool before shearing was invented.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Varro,^(de Vaan 2008) who explains ''vestis'' “clothing” from it, the fleece being the whole wool shorn from a sheep;^(OLD 2012) Köbler gives Catullus.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is wool plucked or shorn from a sheep, a fleece, and a piece of wool used as a wrapping or swab, as in Pliny the Elder's dough gathered up in tufts of wool.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Virgil uses it of the silk the Chinese comb from leaves, and of fleecy clouds.^(OLD 2012) It is also the fleece as the sheep's coat, as Virgil's fleeces eaten by disease, and the skin or fur of other animals, as the lion skin in Ovid; the Golden Fleece is ''vellus aureum''.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Church Latin glosses it “fleece”,^(Stelten 1995) and the Bible's fleece of Gideon is one of the passages Köbler lists.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 116–27 BC – Varro of the fleece shorn from a sheep.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus.^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil of silk and of fleecy clouds.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid of a lion's skin.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Wool shorn or plucked from a sheep, a [[m|en|fleece]];^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995) a tuft of wool.^(OLD 2012)

+ # Something fleecy: unspun [[m|en|silk]], fleecy clouds.^(OLD 2012)

+ # The fleece on a living sheep.^(OLD 2012)

+ # The skin, hide or [[m|en|fur]] of other animals.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vellō]]

+ * [[lāna]]

+ * [[villus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}