crypta Latin · revision 36990

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=116–27 BC, Varro|origins=grc κρυπτός}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈkryp.ta]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈkrip.ta]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''crypta''' ''f'' (genitive cryptae); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Also spelled ''crupta'' (in inscriptions), ''cripta'' and ''crepta''.^(OLD 2012)^(TLL)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|grc|κρυπτή|tr=kruptḗ]],^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Saalfeld 1874) the feminine of [[m|grc|κρυπτός|tr=kruptós|t=hidden]], an adjective of the verb “to hide”.^(Wiktionary)^(Köbler 2010)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in Varro's Menippean satires,^(Köbler 2010)^(Georges 1913) where a ''crypta'' is named beside a ''xystus''.^(Georges 1913)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Classical Latin it was above all a covered gallery or arcade, as in country houses, temples and theatres.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913) Vitruvius uses it of a vaulted storage passage,^(Georges 1913)^(Conte 2010) Juvenal of the great drain under the Subura,^(Georges 1913)^(Conte 2010) and the ''crypta Neapolitana'' was the tunnel between Naples and Puteoli.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) In Petronius it is perhaps an underground room for religious rites (''cuius vos sacrum ante cryptam turbastis'', “whose rite you disturbed before the crypt”).^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010) Sidonius uses it of the stalls for horses in the circus.^(Conte 2010)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ Prudentius and the Vulgate use it of an underground vault or cave.^(Georges 1913) In Christian and medieval Latin it named a catacomb and the crypt of a church,^(Stelten 1995)^(Niermeyer 1976)^(DMLBS) and also a cave, den or secret passage.^(DMLBS) English took it over in the early 15th century as ''cripte'', “grotto, cavern”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of a covered gallery.^(Köbler 2010)^(Georges 1913)

+ * c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of a vaulted storeroom.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca writes of the ''crypta Neapolitana''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * before 66 AD – Petronius uses it, perhaps of a room for rites.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 348/49–c. 413 AD – Prudentius uses it of an underground vault.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 431–486 AD – Sidonius uses it of stalls in the circus.^(Conte 2010)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * early 15th century – English borrows it as ''cripte''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A covered [[m|en|gallery]] or passage, an [[m|en|arcade]].^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913)

+ # A [[m|en|tunnel]], as the ''crypta Neapolitana'' between Naples and Puteoli; an underground drain.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913)

+ # A vaulted storeroom.^(Georges 1913)^(Conte 2010)

+ # An underground room for religious rites, a [[m|en|vault]].^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010)

+ # ''(Late Latin)'' A stall for horses in the circus.^(Conte 2010)

+ # ''(Ecclesiastical Latin)'' A [[m|en|catacomb]]; the [[m|en|crypt]] of a church.^(Stelten 1995)^(Niermeyer 1976)^(DMLBS)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A cave, den or secret passage.^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cryptārius]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[en|crypt]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}