plumbum Latin · revision 768

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈpɫʊm.bũː]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈplum.bum]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''plumbum''' ''n'' (genitive plumbī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The origin is uncertain, and it is probably a loanword.^(de Vaan 2008)^(TLL) It was long compared with [[grc|μόλυβδος|tr=mólubdos|t=lead]], but Beekes argued, and de Vaan accepts, that it is unlikely to be related to the Greek word and is closer to Celtic [[cel-pro|*ɸloudom|t=lead]], seen in [[sga|lúaide|t=lead]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) The Celtic word has been explained from [[ine-pro|*plew-|t=to flow]], as “the flowing metal”, but this cannot give Latin ''plumbum'', so the Latin word too is probably borrowed from another language.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan mentions a Berber word for lead, itself a loan, as possibly the same wanderword,^(de Vaan 2008) and Köbler places its source in the Iberian Mediterranean.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan and Köbler date it from Pacuvius, in the 2nd century BC.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) In Pacuvius it means lead used as a missile: “it hails with lead and stones”.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The main sense was the metal [[m|en|lead]], also called ''plumbum nigrum'', while ''plumbum album'' or ''candidum'' was [[m|en|tin]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) By metonymy it named things made of lead: a sling bullet, a water [[m|en|pipe]], a lead ruler for drawing lines, and in Prudentius a scourge weighted with lead.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Pliny the Elder also uses it for a livid disease of the eye.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ In medieval texts it meant a leaden vessel^(Niermeyer 1976) and a seal of lead.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 220–130 BC – Pacuvius uses it of lead shot.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 50 BC – Caesar reports that ''plumbum album'' (tin) is found in Britain.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus writes of parchment ruled with lead.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder distinguishes black and white lead and names an eye disease ''plumbum''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * early 14th century – English borrows the word through Old French as [[en|plumb]], a lead weight on a line.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|lead|alt=Lead]] (the metal).^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # A lead bullet thrown from a sling.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # A lead water [[m|en|pipe]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # A lead ruler or pencil for drawing lines.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''plumbum album'', ''plumbum candidum'': [[m|en|tin]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # A disease of the eye with a livid discoloration.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A leaden vessel.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[plumbāgō]]

+ * [[plumbārius]]

+ * [[plumbeus]]

+ * [[plumbō]]

+ * [[plumbōsus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[plumbātūra]]

+ * [[plumbea]]

+ * [[plumbeum]]

+ * [[en|plumb]]

+ * [[en|plummet]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}