selibra Latin · revision 34475

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=234–149 BC, Cato|origins=la lībra}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

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

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sēlībra''' ''f'' (genitive sēlībrae); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+ The first syllable is long by nature, but it is short in all verse examples.^(OLD 2012)

+ Martial scans it with a short ''e''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|la|sēmi-|lībra|t1=half|t2=pound]], with the shortened prefix ⟨sē-⟩.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan thinks it was probably made from [[m|la|lībra]] on the model of [[sēmodius]] “half a modius”, from an older ⟨*sēmi-modius⟩.^(de Vaan 2008) He reconstructs [[itc-pro|*leiþra-|t=pound]] for the noun, whose root is unidentified.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan and Köbler record it from Cato on,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) who uses it in ''De agri cultura'' as a measure of weight.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is a half-pound, half a ''libra'', a measure of weight.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913) After Cato it is used by Varro, Livy, Columella, Pliny the Elder and Martial.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 234–149 BC – Cato uses it in ''De agri cultura''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 116–27 BC – Varro mentions it in ''De lingua Latina''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses it with a short first syllable.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Half a [[lībra]], a half-[[m|en|pound]] (a measure of weight).^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}