scomber Latin · revision 36738

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=grc σκόμβρος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈskɔm.bɛr]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈskɔm.ber]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''scomber''' ''m'' (genitive scombrī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Priscian records a by-form ''scombrus'', without an example.^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|grc|σκόμβρος|tr=skómbros|t=mackerel]].^(OLD 2012)^(Saalfeld 1874)^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010) The origin of the Greek word is unclear;^(Köbler 2010) Wiktionary suggests it may ultimately be of Pre-Greek origin.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Plautus has it in the ''Captivi'', in the phrase ''scomber horaeus'', a mackerel in season.^(Georges 1913)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the classical period it is the name of a sea fish, most likely the [[m|en|mackerel]].^(Georges 1913)^(OLD 2012) Lewis & Short describe it as a kind of tunny.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Catullus, Persius and Martial mention it,^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) Columella and Pliny the Elder also mention it,^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) and Pompeian inscriptions speak of a fish sauce made from it, ''garum scombri''.^(Georges 1913)

+

+ British Medieval and Renaissance Latin kept the word for the mackerel: John Caius compares the shape of another fish to it.^(DMLBS) Italian ''sgombro'' continues it.^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus mentions a mackerel in season.^(Georges 1913)^(Conte 2010)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus uses the word.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1st century AD – Columella mentions it.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder writes about it and about a sauce made from it.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 40–102/103 AD – Martial mentions it several times.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A sea fish, probably the [[m|en|mackerel]].^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913)^(Gaffiot 2016)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[it|sgombro]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Garum scombri'', a fish sauce made from it, appears on labels of jars found at Pompeii.^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}