sabulum Latin · revision 35823

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=116–27 BC, Varro}}

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sabulum''' ''n'' (genitive sabulī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Also ''sabulō'', ''sabulōnis'' (masculine), which Wiktionary treats as the main form.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ A syncopated ''sablum'' occurs in Pliny the Elder.^(Georges 1913)^(Gaffiot 2016)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*saflo-]], which de Vaan reconstructs with or without an initial /p/ and also with /þ/ or /b/ in place of /f/.^(de Vaan 2008) He regards the word as a substrate word, built on a form like [[m|itc-pro|*sam-]] or [[m|itc-pro|*sab-]].^(de Vaan 2008) Wiktionary mentions the traditional derivation from [[ine-pro|*sámh₂-dʰ-]] with a diminutive suffix, which it calls phonotactically impossible, and the more recent view of a European substrate word.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Compare [[grc|ψάμμος|tr=psámmos]] and [[m|grc|ἄμαθος|tr=ámathos]], and Germanic words for “sand” such as [[non|sandr]] and [[goh|sant]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Varro,^(de Vaan 2008) whose ''Menippean Satires'' speak of coarse sand lying along the walls of large peristyles.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It meant coarse sand or gravel,^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913) as distinct from ''harēna'', and Döderlein notes that it denoted sand as a kind of light soil.^(Döderlein 1874) Quintus Curtius, Columella and Pliny the Elder use it, Pliny for the white gravel near Ticinum that makes even rich soil barren.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ Medieval British writers used both ''sabulum'' and ''sabulō'' for sand, sand of the shore, sand for building and ballast;^(DMLBS) Gildas and Aldhelm have it.^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 116–27 BC – Varro mentions gravel in peristyles.^(OLD 2012)^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1st century AD – Quintus Curtius uses it.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder describes barren white gravel near Ticinum.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 639–709 AD – Aldhelm uses ''sabulō'' of the sand of the shore.^(DMLBS)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Coarse [[m|en|sand]], [[m|en|gravel]].^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' Sand of a river bank or the shore; sand for building or [[m|en|ballast]].^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sabulētum]]

+ * [[sabulō]]

+ * [[sabulōsus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Döderlein contrasts it with [[harena]], dry, stony soil, while [[m|la|saburra]] was sand used as ballast.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}