framea Latin · revision 33435

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=98–115 AD, Tacitus|origins=gem-pro *framjō}}

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''framea''' ''f'' (genitive frameae); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a Germanic word,^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(TLL) [[bor|gem-pro|*framjō|t=lance, spear, javelin]] in the reconstruction Wiktionary calls the most accepted, although the exact form is uncertain.^(Wiktionary) Tacitus says that the Germans called their spears so in their own language.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(TLL) Wiktionary relates it perhaps to [[m|gem-pro|*frankô|t=javelin]] and also mentions [[m|gem-pro|*þramjō]], compared with [[non|þremjar|t=swords]], and [[m|gem-pro|*hramjō|t=pole, perch]].^(Wiktionary) Köbler calls its etymology unexplained.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in Tacitus' ''Germania'' and in Juvenal.^(Köbler 2010)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Tacitus describes the ''framea'' as a spear with a short, narrow iron head, so sharp and handy that the same weapon served for fighting at close quarters or at a distance.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(TLL)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Tacitus it is the spear of the Germans,^(OLD 2012)^(TLL) which a young man received with a shield in the assembly,^(TLL) and Gellius lists it among the names of missile weapons.^(TLL)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Juvenal uses it more generally for a spear, in an oath ''per Mārtis frameam'', “by the spear of Mars”.^(TLL)^(Lewis & Short 1879) In Late and Christian Latin it means a sword: Augustine and the Vulgate psalms use it so,^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) and Isidore equates it with ''rhomphaea''.^(Georges 1913)^(Gaffiot 2016) Gregory of Tours still uses it in his histories.^(TLL) Medieval Latin used it chiefly for a sword, sometimes for a lance or any weapon,^(Niermeyer 1976)^(MLW) and in Britain also for a halberd and, figuratively, for the sword of the spirit or of vengeance.^(DMLBS)^(MLW) It was taken over learnedly as [[en|framea]] and [[fr|framée]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 98–115 AD – Tacitus describes the ''framea'' of the Germans.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 67–c. 127 AD – Juvenal uses it of the spear of Mars.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 165 AD – Gellius lists it among missile weapons.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it of a sword.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 538/539–594 AD – Gregory of Tours uses it in his history of the Franks.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 560–636 AD – Isidore explains it as a ''rhomphaea''.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|spear]] used by the ancient [[m|en|German|alt=Germans]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(TLL)

+ # A spear in general.^(TLL)^(Conte 2010)

+ # ''(Late Latin)'' A [[m|en|sword]].^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A sword; a [[m|en|lance]]; a [[m|en|halberd]].^(Niermeyer 1976)^(MLW)^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[hasta]]

+ * [[rhomphaea]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The MLW records a rare medieval homograph ''framea'', a beam (in the plural, a scaffold), which it compares with English ''frame''.^(MLW)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}