balteus Latin · revision 7685

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=borrowing|attested=Livius Andronicus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈbaɫ.te.ʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈbal.te.us]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''balteus''' ''m'' (genitive balteī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Its origin is uncertain; the OLD calls it doubtful.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010) Charisius reports that Varro called it Etruscan, though Varro later looked for a Latin origin, and Wiktionary compares [[bor|ett|𐌁𐌀𐌋𐌕𐌄𐌀|tr=baltea|t=belt]].^(TLL)^(Wiktionary)^(Lewis & Short 1879) A neuter ⟨balteum⟩ is also found, especially in early prose.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) The DÉRom reconstructs Proto-Romance ⟨*/ˈbalti-u/⟩.^(DÉRom)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Köbler's first source is Livius Andronicus, whom he dates 280/260–before 200 BC.^(Köbler 2010) The OLD's earliest citation is from Caesar, of a baldric.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It meant a shoulder band or baldric, often decorated, for a sword, quiver or instrument, as in Caesar and Virgil, and in Germanicus the belt of Orion, and in Manilius the zodiac.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) In Juvenal it meant a blow with a belt, and in Ovid a woman's girdle.^(OLD 2012) In Apuleius it meant a decorative band on a horse, in Pliny the Elder a bond, in Cato a pastry crust turned up at the edges, in Vitruvius a band on an Ionic capital, and in Calpurnius a gangway in a theatre.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a belt.^(Stelten 1995) British Medieval Latin used it for a belt for bending a crossbow and the belt of knighthood.^(DMLBS) It survives in Romanian ''balț'' and Italian ''balzo'', and it was borrowed early into Germanic as ''*baltjaz'', whence Old English ''belt'' and [[en|belt]].^(DÉRom)^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses it.^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of a pastry crust.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of a baldric.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * Old English – ''belt'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|baldric]]; the belt of Orion; the zodiac.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A woman's girdle.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A horse's breast band.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A bond.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A pastry crust.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(architecture)'' A band on an Ionic capital; a gangway in a theatre.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[balteō]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[en|belt]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}