eruca Latin · revision 6804
16 Oct 2026, 12:39 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)”
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+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=derivation|attested=Moretum}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [eːˈruː.ka]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [eˈruː.ka]^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Forms==
+ '''ērūca''' ''f'' (genitive ērūcae); first declension^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ De Vaan analyses it as ēr-ūca, from [[ēr]] “hedgehog”, the caterpillar being named for its rough back, with the suffix taken from [[verrūca]] “wart”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Etymonline) The OLD and TLL call the origin uncertain.^(OLD 2012)^(TLL) A variant is [[ūrūca]].^(de Vaan 2008) Isidore of Seville derived the caterpillar from [[ērōdō|alt=ērōdere|t=to gnaw away]], and the herb from [[ūrō|alt=ūrere|t=to burn]], for its fiery strength.^(Isidore)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ De Vaan dates it from the Moretum, where rocket rouses slow desire.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) Köbler's first source is Pliny the Elder.^(Köbler 2010)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It meant an acrid herb used as an aphrodisiac, rocket, as in Horace, and a kind of caterpillar, as in Columella.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Lewis & Short 1879) In Medieval Latin it was rocket, charlock or hedge mustard.^(DMLBS)
+
+ It survives in Italian ''ruca'', with the diminutives ''ruchetta'' and ''rucola''.^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline) [[en|rocket]] came about 1500 through French ''roquette'', and [[en|arugula]] in 1967 from a dialectal Italian form.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of the herb.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 1st century AD – Columella uses it of a caterpillar.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * c. 1500 – English ''rocket'' (the plant) is recorded.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1967 – English ''arugula'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # [[m|en|Rocket]] (the herb ''Eruca sativa'').^(OLD 2012)
+ # A [[m|en|caterpillar]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[brūchus]]
+ * [[ēr]]
+ * [[en|rocket]]
+ * [[en|arugula]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}