clipeus Latin · revision 5620

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|attested=Plautus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈklɪ.pe.ʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkliː.pe.us]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''clipeus''' ''m'' (genitive clipeī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Its origin is unknown.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) It is also spelt [[m|la|clupeus]], and de Vaan notes that such variation between /i/ and /u/ is common after /l/ before labials, as in [[libet]] beside [[m|la|lubet]].^(de Vaan 2008) Köbler and the TLL think it may be a loanword.^(Köbler 2010)^(TLL) Isidore derived it from an old verb [[m|la|clepere|t=to hide]], because it hides the body.^(Isidore)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) A tragic fragment speaks of protecting the Greek fleet with a shield.^(OLD 2012) Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was a round shield, usually of bronze, and an embossed or ornamented shield seen as a work of art, as Phidias' shield of Minerva in Cicero.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) By its shape Ennius used it of the vault of heaven, and Ovid of the disc of the sun.^(OLD 2012) The neuter ''clipeum'' is also found.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ In medieval Germany it was the military service owed by a vassal, the ''Heerschild''.^(Niermeyer 1976) It was borrowed into English as ''clipeus''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of Phidias' shield.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid calls the sun's disc the god's shield.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A round [[m|en|shield]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # An ornamental shield.^(OLD 2012)

+ # (poetic) The vault of heaven; the disc of the sun.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' Military service owed to a lord.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Döderlein distinguishes [[scūtum]], a large shield covering the whole body, from ''clipeus'' and [[parma]], smaller round shields.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}