copula Latin · revision 7541

16 Oct 2026, 14:06 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)”
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=Plautus|origins=la apiō}}
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈkoː.pʊ.ɫa]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkɔː.pu.la]^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Forms==
+ '''cōpula''' ''f'' (genitive cōpulae); first declension^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is a contraction of ⟨*coapula⟩, from [[con-]] “together”, [[apiō]] “to fasten” and the suffix [[-ula]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(TLL) Köbler traces ⟨apiō⟩ to [[ine-pro|*h₁ep-|t=to seize]].^(Köbler 2010) A contracted ⟨copla⟩ is also found.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Köbler's first source is Plautus, whom he dates c. 250–184 BC, and Plautus uses it of a bond.^(Köbler 2010)^(Gaffiot 2016) The OLD also cites Accius for a mooring cable.^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It meant a bond, fastening, a rope, as Accius' twisted ropes, a leash in Ovid, and in Apuleius perhaps a ligament.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) Lewis and Short note that Cicero does not use it.^(Lewis & Short 1879) In Nepos it meant a close tie between persons or things.^(OLD 2012) In grammar, from Varro, it was used of pairs of contrasted forms and of connective particles, and in Gellius of words joined in a compound.^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a union, bond.^(Stelten 1995) Medieval Latin used it for marriage and a team of horses.^(Niermeyer 1976) It survives in Italian ''coppia'' and Spanish ''copla'', and Old French ''cople'' gave [[en|couple]] in the late 13th century; [[en|copula]] “linking verb” is from the 1640s.^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a bond.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 116–27 BC – Varro uses it in grammar.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * c. 100–24 BC – Nepos uses it of a close tie.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * late 13th century – English ''couple'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A bond, rope, [[m|en|leash]]; a mooring cable.^(OLD 2012)
+ # A close tie.^(OLD 2012)
+ # ''(grammar)'' A pair of contrasted forms; a connective; a compound.^(OLD 2012)
+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' [[m|en|Marriage]]; a team of horses.^(Niermeyer 1976)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[cōpulō]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[apīscor]]
+ * [[en|couple]]
+ * [[en|copula]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}