malleus Latin · revision 6778

+ {{infobox|confidence=disputed|formation=derivation|attested=Plautus|origins=ine-pro *melh₂-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈmal.le.ʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmal.le.us]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''malleus''' ''m'' (genitive malleī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The origin is disputed.^(Wiktionary) Schrijver, followed by de Vaan, makes it an adjective in -eus built on *malalo-, from *mola-lo-, [[ine-pro|*molH-lo-|t=crushing instrument]], from the root [[ine-pro|*melh₂-|t=to grind]] of [[molō]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline) Cognate with [[cu|млатъ|tr=mlatŭ|t=hammer]] and [[ru|молот|tr=mólot|t=hammer]], from *molH-to-.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) Prósper instead derives it from *mar(a)lo-, [[ine-pro|*mr̥h₂-(e)lo-]], from the root [[ine-pro|*merh₂-]].^(Wiktionary) Isidore of Seville explained that the hammer strikes while the metal is hot and soft.^(Isidore)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Plautus, who compares a man to a wooden ship often struck with the mallet.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It meant a hammer, mallet or maul, also the maul for felling sacrificial animals, as in Ovid and Suetonius.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Columella uses it of a vine cutting, like [[malleolus]].^(OLD 2012)

+

+ In Medieval Latin it was the tool of masons, smiths and carpenters, a beater for flax, and a hammer for striking a bell.^(DMLBS) It survives in French ''mail'', Italian ''maglio'' and Spanish ''mallo''.^(Wiktionary) Through Old French ''mail'' it is the source of [[en|maul]] about 1200 and [[en|mallet]] in the late 14th century, and [[en|malleus]] was borrowed in the 1660s for the hammer-shaped bone of the ear.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a shipwright's mallet.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of the sacrificial maul.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 1200 – English ''maul'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1660s – English ''malleus'' (the ear bone) is recorded.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|hammer]], [[m|en|mallet]], [[m|en|maul]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # A maul for felling sacrificial animals.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Gaffiot 2016)

+ # A vine cutting (= ''malleolus'').^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[commalleō]]

+ * [[malleātor]]

+ * [[malleātus]]

+ * [[malleolus]]

+ * [[malleābilis]]

+ * [[malleō]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[molō]]

+ * [[marculus]]

+ * [[en|maul]]

+ * [[en|mallet]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}