vitula Latin · revision 7228

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=Varro|origins=la vitulus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈwɪ.tʊ.ɫa]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈviː.tu.la]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vitula''' ''f'' (genitive vitulae); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the feminine of [[vitulus]] “calf”.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Gaffiot's earliest citations are from Varro and Virgil's ''Eclogues''.^(Gaffiot 2016) Köbler's first source is Cicero; he dates Varro 116–27 BC and Cicero 81–43 BC.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It meant a female calf, a young cow, a heifer.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ It survives in Italian ''vitella'', Romanian ''vițea'' and Old French ''velle''.^(Wiktionary) Wiktionary considers it quite uncertain whether the medieval word for a stringed instrument comes from it, perhaps because strings were made from cattle gut, or from a Frankish *fiþulā.^(Wiktionary) Etymonline reports the usual suggestion that [[en|fiddle]] goes back to Medieval Latin ''vitula'' “stringed instrument”, perhaps related to ''vītulārī'' “to celebrate joyfully”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of a heifer.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it in the ''Eclogues''.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A female calf, young cow, [[m|en|heifer]].^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A stringed instrument, fiddle.^(Etymonline)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vitulus]]

+ * [[vacca]]

+ * [[en|veal]]

+ * [[en|fiddle]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Vītula'', with a long ''ī'', was a goddess of joy or victory, according to Macrobius and Varro.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}