clitellae Latin · revision 36999

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=ine-pro *ḱlei-tro/h₂-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [kliːˈtɛl.lae̯]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [kliˈtɛl.le]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''clītellae''' ''f pl'' (genitive clītellārum); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Formed with the diminutive suffix [[m|la|-ella]], it is [[inh|itc-pro|*kleitrelā]],^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008) a diminutive of [[m|itc-pro|*kleitrā|t=support]],^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) which de Vaan traces to [[ine-pro|*ḱlei-tro/h₂-|t=instrument for leaning, supporting]].^(de Vaan 2008) Wiktionary gives the root as [[m|ine-pro|*ḱley-|t=to shelter, cover]].^(Wiktionary) The undiminished word survives in Umbrian [[m|xum|kletram]] (accusative), a portable litter or seat for the images of the gods.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) De Vaan compares [[mga|clithar|t=shelter]] and, with another suffix, [[goh|leitara|t=ladder]].^(de Vaan 2008) The TLL also connects it with [[m|la|acclīnō]], [[m|la|clīvus]] and [[m|la|cliēns]].^(TLL)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is found from Plautus on,^(de Vaan 2008)^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010) meaning a packsaddle: in the ''Mostellaria'' it is said of an old man that ''vehit hic clitellas'', “this one carries the packsaddle”.^(TLL)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Older writers use it only in the plural; the singular appears in glossaries and grammarians.^(TLL) Horace has mules at Capua putting down their packsaddles (''hinc muli Capuae clitellas tempore ponunt''),^(TLL)^(Conte 2010) and Livy speaks of packsaddles tied to their loads.^(TLL) Phaedrus has ''binas mihi clitellas impositurum'', “that he will put two packsaddles on me”.^(TLL)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ A comic line quoted by Cicero and Ammianus says that the packsaddle has been put on an ox, of a task that does not suit the one who must do it.^(Georges 1913)^(Conte 2010) According to Paulus' epitome of Festus, the name was also given, from their shape, to a place in Rome and to some steep stretches of the Via Flaminia, and to an instrument of torture.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Gregory of Tours writes ⟨cletellae⟩.^(Georges 1913)^(TLL)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a packsaddle.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of columns brought on packsaddles.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of the mules at Capua.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of packsaddles tied to loads.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 15 BC–c. 50 AD – Phaedrus uses it in a fable.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 538/539–594 AD – Gregory of Tours writes it ''cletellae''.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|packsaddle]], especially for an [[m|en|ass]] or [[m|en|mule]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # The name of a place in [[m|en|Rome]] and of some steep places on the Via Flaminia, from their shape.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # An instrument of [[m|en|torture]].^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Gaffiot 2016)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[clītellārius]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cliēns]]

+ * [[clīvus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The proverb ''bovi clītellās impōnere'', “to put the packsaddle on an ox”, was said of giving someone a task they are not fit for.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}