pecten Latin · revision 32761

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=ine-pro *p(e)tḱ-en-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈpɛk.tɛn]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈpɛk.ten]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''pecten''' ''m'' (genitive pectinis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*petken-|t=comb]], [[inh|ine-pro|*p(e)tḱ-en-]], a noun beside the verb [[pecto|alt=pectō]] “to comb”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) De Vaan compares [[grc|κτείς|tr=kteís|t=comb]] and [[sa|पक्ष्मन्|tr=pákṣman-|t=eyelash]].^(de Vaan 2008) Varro explained it as that by which the hair is unravelled, and Priscian derived it from combing.^(TLL)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Plautus,^(de Vaan 2008) in whose ''Captivi'' someone wonders whether a man will be shorn close or through the comb.^(OLD 2012) Ennius uses it of the scallop of Mytilene.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is first a comb for the hair, and a currycomb.^(OLD 2012) It is used of many things like a comb: the reed of a loom, as in Virgil's weaver running the comb through the web; the plectrum of a lyre, and so the lyre itself; a rake; and a comb for gathering ears of grain at harvest, in Columella.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Celsus calls the pubic bone by this name, Pliny the Elder the comb-like grain of beechwood, and Ovid uses it of fingers interlaced.^(OLD 2012) It is also the scallop.^(OLD 2012) Wiktionary adds pubic hair and a poem or song.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a comb.^(OLD 2012)^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 204–169 BC – Ennius of the scallop.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil of a weaver's reed and of a plectrum.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 14–37 AD – Celsus of the pubic bone.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|comb]] for the hair; a [[m|en|currycomb]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # The reed of a weaver's [[m|en|loom]]; weaving.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The [[m|en|plectrum]] of a lyre; the lyre itself; a song.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A [[m|en|rake]]; a comb for gathering ears of grain.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The pubic bone, the pubic region; pubic hair.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A comb-like formation or arrangement.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A [[m|en|scallop]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pectinārius]]

+ * [[pectinō]]

+ * [[pectunculus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pecto|alt=pectō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}