pateressa

Latin edit

Etymology edit

From pater (“father”) +‎ -essa, a form of -issa (“-ess, female”) (e is frequently used for i at Venosa, where this term is attested).

Pronunciation edit

(Classical) IPA^(key): /pa.teˈres.sa/, [pät̪ɛˈrɛs̠ːä]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /pa.teˈres.sa/, [pät̪eˈrɛsːä]

Noun edit

pateressa f (genitive pateressae); first declension

(post-classical, Jewish, hapax) The meaning of this term is uncertain (translated as fatheress).
- 5th–early 6th century (epitaph) , (Venosa; in situ: arcosolium D2, grave 8; in Latin and Hebrew; image;;^[1] facsimile^[2]):^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]
  HIC REQVESC / ET ALEXSANRA / PATERESSA QVI V[IX] / IT ANORO PLUS M[INUS —] / שלום
  Here rests Alexsanra the fatheress, who lived more or less [—] years. Shalom (peace).

Declension edit

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	pateressa	pateressae
Genitive	pateressae	pateressārum
Dative	pateressae	pateressīs
Accusative	pateressam	pateressās
Ablative	pateressā	pateressīs
Vocative	pateressa	pateressae

References edit

^ Ernst Munkácsi (1939) Der Jude von Neapel: die historischen und kunstgeschichtlichen Denkmäler des Süditalienischen Judentums (in German), “Abb. 46.”, pages 86–87
^ Michele Ruggiero (1888) Degli scavi di antichità nelle province di terraferma dell'antico regno di Napoli dal 1743 al 1876 (in Italian), “30”, pages 504–505
^ Pieter W. van der Horst (1991) Ancient Jewish Epitaphs: An Introductory Survey of a Millennium of Jewish Funerary Epigraphy (300 BCE - 700 CE), Kok Pharos Publishing House, published 1996, →ISBN, page 108:
Pateressa (606), ‘fatheress’, is unparallelled and it is therefore impossible to be sure about its meaning or about the function implied. But it is a not unreasonable guess that the deceased woman received this novel title to designate her as a female ‘father’, i.e. mother of the synagogue. But, since pater can also designate a municipal official, “the question of whether pateressa implied a synagogue function or a civic one, must remain open.”
^ David Noy (1993) Jewish Inscriptions of Western Europe, volumes 1: “Italy (excluding the City of Rome), Spain and Gaul”, Cambridge University Press, published 2005, →ISBN, pages 84, 85:
63 (CIJ i 606): Venosa: 5th–early 6th century. Epitaph; Latin and Hebrew. / In situ: arcosolium D2, grave 8. / […] / Text follows CIJ (majuscule text). / hic requesc|et Alexsanr(i)a | pateressa qui v[ix]|it anoro plus m[inus - - ] | שלום / […] / Here rests Alexandria the fatheress, who lived more or less .. years. Peace. / […] / Pateressa is clearly to be regarded as a title, the feminine version of pater, formed in the same way as Christian and medieval Latin words like presbyterissa, senatorissa, from (usually 3rd-declension) masculine nouns (cf. πατρώνισσα in a 2nd–3rd century inscription from Cyprus, AE (1975) 830); the -essa ending here reflects the frequent use of e for i at Venosa. Leon understood the word as designating the wife of a pater. Lenormant equated it to mater synagogae at Rome, but Alexandria was explicitly not described as mater (cf. no.116). She must be regarded as a woman in the same position as a pater (see no.56).
^ J. N. Adams, Mark Janse, Simon Swain, editors (2002), Bilingualism in Ancient Society: Language Contact and the Written Text, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 185: “JIWE i. 63: Hic requescet Alexsanra pateressa qui u[ix]it anoro plus m[inus —] שלום. (LGHelex) / Here rests Alexsanra the fatheress, who lived more or less — years. Peace.”
^ J. N. Adams (2003) Bilingualism and the Latin Language, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 422:
There are other hybrids in late Latin. -issa, which was productive from the Byzantine period in Greek (see, e.g. P.Oxy. iii. 478.27 πατρώνισσα (πατρωνείσης), cited by Cavenaile (1952: 195)), is not only found in words of Greek origin in Latin, but also occasionally attached to Latin bases (e.g. sacerdotissa). In a Jewish inscription from Venusia (Noy (1993), 63 hic requescet Alexsanra pateressa) pateressa is the feminine correspondent of the masculine title of the synagogue pater, which sometimes retains the e of the nominative in oblique cases in the same corpus (e.g. Noy (1993), 61 πατερις).

[1] Ernst Munkácsi (1939) Der Jude von Neapel: die historischen und kunstgeschichtlichen Denkmäler des Süditalienischen Judentums (in German), “Abb. 46.”, pages 86–87

[2] Michele Ruggiero (1888) Degli scavi di antichità nelle province di terraferma dell'antico regno di Napoli dal 1743 al 1876 (in Italian), “30”, pages 504–505

[3] Pieter W. van der Horst (1991) Ancient Jewish Epitaphs: An Introductory Survey of a Millennium of Jewish Funerary Epigraphy (300 BCE - 700 CE), Kok Pharos Publishing House, published 1996, →ISBN, page 108:
Pateressa (606), ‘fatheress’, is unparallelled and it is therefore impossible to be sure about its meaning or about the function implied. But it is a not unreasonable guess that the deceased woman received this novel title to designate her as a female ‘father’, i.e. mother of the synagogue. But, since pater can also designate a municipal official, “the question of whether pateressa implied a synagogue function or a civic one, must remain open.”

[4] David Noy (1993) Jewish Inscriptions of Western Europe, volumes 1: “Italy (excluding the City of Rome), Spain and Gaul”, Cambridge University Press, published 2005, →ISBN, pages 84, 85:
63 (CIJ i 606): Venosa: 5th–early 6th century. Epitaph; Latin and Hebrew. / In situ: arcosolium D2, grave 8. / […] / Text follows CIJ (majuscule text). / hic requesc|et Alexsanr(i)a | pateressa qui v[ix]|it anoro plus m[inus - - ] | שלום / […] / Here rests Alexandria the fatheress, who lived more or less .. years. Peace. / […] / Pateressa is clearly to be regarded as a title, the feminine version of pater, formed in the same way as Christian and medieval Latin words like presbyterissa, senatorissa, from (usually 3rd-declension) masculine nouns (cf. πατρώνισσα in a 2nd–3rd century inscription from Cyprus, AE (1975) 830); the -essa ending here reflects the frequent use of e for i at Venosa. Leon understood the word as designating the wife of a pater. Lenormant equated it to mater synagogae at Rome, but Alexandria was explicitly not described as mater (cf. no.116). She must be regarded as a woman in the same position as a pater (see no.56).

[5] J. N. Adams, Mark Janse, Simon Swain, editors (2002), Bilingualism in Ancient Society: Language Contact and the Written Text, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 185: “JIWE i. 63: Hic requescet Alexsanra pateressa qui u[ix]it anoro plus m[inus —] שלום. (LGHelex) / Here rests Alexsanra the fatheress, who lived more or less — years. Peace.”

[6] J. N. Adams (2003) Bilingualism and the Latin Language, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 422:
There are other hybrids in late Latin. -issa, which was productive from the Byzantine period in Greek (see, e.g. P.Oxy. iii. 478.27 πατρώνισσα (πατρωνείσης), cited by Cavenaile (1952: 195)), is not only found in words of Greek origin in Latin, but also occasionally attached to Latin bases (e.g. sacerdotissa). In a Jewish inscription from Venusia (Noy (1993), 63 hic requescet Alexsanra pateressa) pateressa is the feminine correspondent of the masculine title of the synagogue pater, which sometimes retains the e of the nominative in oblique cases in the same corpus (e.g. Noy (1993), 61 πατερις).

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