scudicia

Latin edit

Etymology edit

From excōdicō (“to dig the earth around the base of a vine”), according to White (who argues that the frequently cited alternative proposal of derivation from excūdō (“to beat, hammer out”) is semantically inappropriate).^[1] In Isidore's time, the process of vowel prosthesis had led to the conflation in pronunciation of the prefix "ex" with word-initial "s" before a consonant.^[2]

Noun edit

scudicia f (genitive scudiciae); first declension (Late Latin, hapax)^[1]

An implement used for breaking up the earth at the base of a plant, possibly a type of pickaxe, mattock, hoe, or spade
- early 7th c. CE, Isidore of Seville, Etymologiae sive Origines 20.14.7:^[1]
  Scudicia dicta eo, quod circa codicem terram aperiat; et quamvis eius usus in reliquis operibus habeatur, nomen tamen ex codice retinet. hanc alii generaliter fossorium vocant, quasi fovessorium.
  1967 translation by K. D. White
  The scudicia is so called because it opens the earth around the base (of the plant); and although it is used for other operations, it still retains its name from the base (codex). Others commonly call it a trenching tool, as if the word were derived from fovea (a hole).

Declension edit

First-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	scudicia	scudiciae
Genitive	scudiciae	scudiciārum
Dative	scudiciae	scudiciīs
Accusative	scudiciam	scudiciās
Ablative	scudiciā	scudiciīs
Vocative	scudicia	scudiciae

References edit

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 K. D. White (1967) Agricultural Implements of the Roman World, Cambridge University Press, page 26
^ Nicolas, Christian. "Etymologizing from eye to ear: about vowel prosthesis in Isidore’s Etymologies." In: Latin vulgaire – latin tardif IX. Actes du IXe colloque international sur le latin vulgaire et tardif, Lyon 2-6 septembre 2009. Lyon : Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux, 2012. pp. 795-806. (Collection de la Maison de l'Orient méditerranéen ancien. Série philologique, 49)