imbilium

Latin edit

Etymology edit

Unknown, see Usage Notes.

Pronunciation edit

(Classical) IPA^(key): /imˈbi.li.um/, [ɪmˈbɪlʲiʊ̃ˑ]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /imˈbi.li.um/, [imˈbiːlium]

Noun edit

imbilium ?

(hapax) Possibly a light basket, or a basket for catching fish, or a weel for catching fish.
- Cotton MS Cleopatra A.iii‎^[1], c. 930, archived from the original on 22 March 2022, page 84r, column 1: “leoht leap / Imbilium”

Usage notes edit

This word is a hapax legomenon attested in the problematic Second Cleopatra Glossary where it is glossed with the also hapax legomenon Old English leoht leap. William Somner conjectured imbilium may be a mistake for the New Latin impilia 'woollen socks,' or otherwise a dialectal synonym of excipulus, 'a weale; a snatch'.