D. Ritchie (and you're welcome!) posed an interesting questions about the
lexical alternance (as it were) between 'ferrum', a transferred use of a
lexeme which has the literal sense of 'iron' (and by transferred usage, 'any
thing made of iron, notably a sword') and 'gladius'. His question is
technical, and necessitates a concordance with dates. His hypothesis:
"I got a Latin question. The Latin for "iron," "ferrum" is listed on
websites as being also a word for "sword." Knowing a little about sword
history, I wondered whether "ferrum" and "gladius" co-existed or whether the
development of the bloomery furnace (isn't that a word!), pattern welding and
then steel caused "ferrum" to fade from Roman vocabulary as technology
improved. I suppose what I'd need is an OED for Latin, something with
historical entries on usage Or people on a list who know stuff like this."
Or a Popperian or a Griceian.
As for Lewis and Short using 'transf.', McEvoy comments:
In a message dated 8/3/2015 2:14:21 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
"This is hardly right: if before my gladitorial debut I asked my friend to
bring me the best "ferrum" he could find and he brought not a sword but a
shiny iron kettle, or even just a lump of high quality iron, I would surely
think he has mistaken the sense of my request and the sense in which I
used "ferrum". It is wrong (in such cases) to suggest we can have a
transferred usage but still only "ONE SENSE". It is more accurate to recognise
that
every distinct "usage" represents a distinct "sense".
Since, as I say, Ritchie is concerned as to when a Roman (and 'when' in the
strict chronological sense, 'very Ancient, Ancient, late Ancient) would
use 'gladius' or prefer the metaphor 'ferrum' (iron) for what the English
call a 'sword' -- as in "Could you pass me the sword, please?".
Let's have a look at 'gladius' where we seem to have indeed one sense and
transferred usages. I first append the entry as I read it and then comment
on it. It's not THAT long!
glădĭus, ĭi, m. (also archaic glă-dĭum, ii, n., Lucil. ap. Non. 208, 13;
cf. Varr. L. L. 9, § 81 Müll.; Quint. 1, 5, 16; v. gladiola under
gladiolus, I.) [perh. akin to clades, cardo; cf. κλαδάσαι, to brandish],
I a sword (syn. the poet. ensis, acc. to Quint. 10, 1, 11; cf. also:
spatha, acinaces, sica, pugio).
I Lit.: arripuit gladium, Plaut. Capt. 4, 4, 7; id. Cas. 2, 4, 28: eripite
isti gladium, quae sui est impos animi, id. Cas. 3, 5, 9: succincti gladiis
media regione cracentes, Enn. ap. Paul. ex Fest. p. 53 Müll. (Ann. v. 497
Vahl.): contecti gladiis, id. ap. Philarg. ad Verg. G. 4, 230 (Ann. v. 415
ib.): occursat ocius gladio comminusque rem gerit Varenus, Caes. B. G. 5,
44, 11: pila miserunt, celeriterque gladios strinxerunt, drew, id. B. C. 3,
93, 1: gladium stringere, Cic. Phil. 2, 9, 21; Verg. A. 12, 278:
destringere, Caes. B. G. 1, 25, 2; 7, 12 fin.; id. B. C. 1, 46, 1; 1, 47, 3;
Cic.
Off. 3, 31, 112; id. Cat. 3, 1, 2; Liv. 27, 13, 9 et saep.: educere, Caes. B.
G. 5, 44, 8; Cic. Att. 4, 3, 3; Sall. C. 51, 36; cf.: educere e vagina,
Cic. Inv. 2, 4, 14: nudare, Ov. F. 2, 693: recondere in vaginam, Cic. Inv. 2,
4, 14; cf. condere, Quint. 8 praef. § 15: xiphion gladi praebet speciem,
Plin. 25, 11, 89, § 138.—
b Prov.
(a) Suo sibi hunc gladio jugulo, fight him with his own weapons, Ter.
Ad. 5, 8, 35; cf. the same, Cic. Caecin. 29, 82.—
(b) Cum illum (Clodium) plumbeo gladio jugulatum iri tamen diceret
(Hortensius), i. e. with very little trouble, Cic. Att. 1, 16, 2. —
(g) Ignem gladio scrutare, stir the fire with a sword (= πῦρ μαχαίρᾳ
σκαλεύειν, Pythag. ap. Diog. Laert. 8, 17), Hor. S. 2, 3, 276.—
(d) Gladium alicui dare qui se occidat, to give one the means of
ruining himself, Plaut. Trin. 1, 2, 92.—
II Transf.
A Murder, death: cum tanta praesertim gladiorum sit impunitas, Cic.
Phil. 1, 11, 27; cf. id. Fam. 10, 2, 1; Vell. 2, 3, 3; 2, 125, 2; gladiorum
licentia, Cic. Fam. 4, 9 fin.; id. 2, 22, 2: qui universas provincias regunt,
jus gladii habent, i. e. the power of life and death, Dig. 1, 18, 6, § 8:
potestas gladii, ib. 2, 1, 3; Capitol. Gord. 9.—
B A gladiatorial combat: qui cum maxime dubitat, utrum se ad gladium
locet an ad cultrum, Sen. Ep. 87 med.: comparare homines ad gladium, Lact. 6,
12 fin.: servus ad gladium vel ad bestias vel in metallum damnatus, Dig.
29, 2, 25.—
C Gladius vomeris, a ploughshare, Plin. 18, 18, 48, § 172.—
D The sword-fish, also called xiphias (ξιφίας), Plin. 9, 2, 1, § 3;
9, 15, 21, § 54; 32, 11, 53, § 145.
Commentary alla Popper, Grice, &c.:
glădĭus, ĭi, m. (also archaic glă-dĭum, ii, n.,
i.e. it seems that the Ancient Romans were never sure whether the thing was
'male' (grammatically speaking) or neuter -- but then have Monty Python
poking fun of Ancient civilisation and the inabilities of furriners to cope
with an ever-changing lingo as Old Latin was:
Lucil. ap. Non. 208, 13; cf. Varrone, Lingua Latina 9, § 81 Müll.; Quint.
1, 5, 16; v. gladiola under gladiolus, I.) [perh. akin to clades, cardo;
cf. κλαδάσαι, to brandish],
The semantic connections they are given are with 'gladiolus', and
'gladiola' (I) and Lewis and Short propose a semantic link with 'clades' and
'cardo' and a comparison with Greek 'kladasai', a verb meaning 'to brandish'.
'Gladiolus' is a mere diminutive of 'gladius', but it had a transferred usage
to mean the sword-lily (much as 'gladius' could be used metaphorically to
mean the sword-FISH). 'Gladiolus' is used to mean the sword lily by PLINIO,
among others.
Note that if you go to a florist and ask for a two dozen of 'gladiolus' the
florist would understand you (in Grice's use of 'understand') you to mean
you want the lily and not two dozen swords.
glădĭŏlus, i, m. dim. gladius. I A small sword: lingulam veteres dixere
gladiolum oblongum, in speciem linguae factum, Gell. 10, 25, 3: gladiolo
solito cinctus, App. M. 2, p. 122; 3, p. 131.—In plur. heterocl. glădĭŏla:
nec gladiola (quisquam ferat), atqui Messala dixit, Quint. 1, 6, 42 (cf.
gladius init.).—
B Glădĭŏlus, i, title of a comedy by Livius Andronicus, Fest. s. v.
pedibus, p. 210 b. Müll.—
II -- 816 -- The sword-lily, Plin. 21, 11, 38, § 65; 21, 17, 67, § 107 sq.;
al. Pall. 1, 37.
gladius, then:
I a sword (syn. the poet. ensis, acc. to Quintiliano 10, 1, 11; cf. also:
spatha, acinaces, sica, pugio).
i.e. it seems the Romans had a variety of lexical choices here: 'gladius',
but if the gladiator had a poetical inclination (Catullus met a few) he
would use 'ensis'. And then there is 'spatha', 'acinaces', 'sica' and 'pugio'
to compare.
The citations for 'gladius' are various, and the work would be to date
them, to check when there was a diachronic overlap with the metaphorical use of
'iron' (ferrum) to mean 'sword' (and not JUST ANYTHING made of iron, or
iron itself -- as in "This has a taste of iron about it" (DISIMPLICATURE:
'but while it IS a sword I'm licking, it would be otiose of me to say that a
sword has a taste of sword about it -- 'true but idle' -- for as Geary
recognises: "For every x, x has a taste of x".
I Lit.: arripuit gladium, Plaut. Capt. 4, 4, 7; id. Cas. 2, 4, 28: eripite
isti gladium, quae sui est impos animi, id. Cas. 3, 5, 9: succincti gladiis
media regione cracentes, Enn. ap. Paul. ex Fest. p. 53 Müll. (Ann. v. 497
Vahl.): contecti gladiis, id. ap. Philarg. ad Verg. G. 4, 230 (Ann. v. 415
ib.): occursat ocius gladio comminusque rem gerit Varenus, Caes. B. G. 5,
44, 11: pila miserunt, celeriterque gladios strinxerunt, drew, id. B. C. 3,
93, 1: gladium stringere, Cic. Phil. 2, 9, 21; Verg. A. 12, 278:
destringere, Caes. B. G. 1, 25, 2; 7, 12 fin.; id. B. C. 1, 46, 1; 1, 47, 3;
Cic.
Off. 3, 31, 112; id. Cat. 3, 1, 2; Liv. 27, 13, 9 et saep.: educere, Caes. B.
G. 5, 44, 8; Cic. Att. 4, 3, 3; Sall. C. 51, 36; cf.:
educere e vagina,
Cicerone Inv. 2, 4, 14: nudare, Ov. F. 2, 693:
recondere in vaginam,
Cicerone Inv. 2, 4, 14; cf. condere, Quint. 8 praef. § 15: xiphion gladi
praebet speciem, Plin. 25, 11, 89, § 138.—
b Proverbs or idiomatic expressions as I prefer (Grice distinguishes an
idiom such as "pushing up the daisies" from a more creative utterance like
"fertilising the daffodils" -- both IMPLICATING 'dead').
(a) Suo sibi hunc gladio jugulo, fight him with his own weapons, Ter.
Ad. 5, 8, 35; cf. the same, Cic. Caecin. 29, 82.—
(b) Cum illum (Clodium) plumbeo gladio jugulatum iri tamen diceret
(Hortensius), i. e. with very little trouble, Cic. Att. 1, 16, 2. —
(g) Ignem gladio scrutare, stir the fire with a sword (= πῦρ μαχαίρᾳ
σκαλεύειν, Pythag. ap. Diog. Laert. 8, 17), Hor. S. 2, 3, 276.—
(d) Gladium alicui dare qui se occidat, to give one the means of
ruining himself, Plaut. Trin. 1, 2, 92.—
Now the transferred usages of this lexeme with a literal sense
('gladiolus', fig. sword-lily was thus called in virue of the fact that its
shape is
like that of a sword, as much as 'gladius' fig. sword-fish) has a
transferred usage and transferred usages of that transferred usages -- that
Geary
calls, "for lack of a better word, "meta-trans-ferred" usages"").
II Transf.
A Murder, death: cum tanta praesertim gladiorum sit impunitas, Cic. Phil.
1, 11, 27; cf. id. Fam. 10, 2, 1; Vell. 2, 3, 3; 2, 125, 2; gladiorum
licentia, Cic. Fam. 4, 9 fin.; id. 2, 22, 2: qui universas provincias regunt,
jus gladii habent, i. e. the power of life and death, Dig. 1, 18, 6, § 8:
potestas gladii, ib. 2, 1, 3; Capitol. Gord. 9.—
i.e. a 'gladius' could be used metaphorically to mean 'murder' -- as if we
were to say, "There was a sword on the bridge" implicating: and someone got
killed by it, if not more.
B A gladiatorial combat: qui cum maxime dubitat, utrum se ad gladium locet
an ad cultrum, Sen. Ep. 87 med.: comparare homines ad gladium, Lact. 6, 12
fin.: servus ad gladium vel ad bestias vel in metallum damnatus, Dig. 29,
2, 25.—
"Gladius" is used in a meta-transferred usage to mean a combat with a
gladius. As "We went to see a sword", implicating, we went to see a fight with
swords.
C Gladius vomeris, a ploughshare, Plin. 18, 18, 48, § 172.—
D The sword-fish, also called xiphias (ξιφίας), Plin. 9, 2, 1, § 3; 9,
15, 21, § 54; 32, 11, 53, § 145.
--- This fourth meta-transferred usage is interesting because the xiphias
looks like a sword (hence the name 'sword-fish'). Note that in Ancient
Roman, 'fish' was found otiose, so at a Roman restaurant: "I want a sword with
veggies" would be understood as a sword FISH and not an actual sword with
peas.
Below the original entry for 'ferrum', commented, to compare.
I may revise McEvoy's commentary at a later stage. Right now then this idea
of a SENSE, a transferred usage (usually a metaphor, but cfr. metonymy,
metaphtonymy, synecdoche, etc.) and a meta-trans-ferred usage.
Ritchie wondered "whether "ferrum" and "gladius" co-existed or whether the
development of the bloomery furnace (isn't that a word!), pattern welding
and then steel caused "ferrum" to fade from Roman vocabulary as technology
improved."
Well, 'gladius' seems a literal SENSE, while 'ferrum' is what Grice would
call a 'mere metaphor', which indeed may give room to misunderstanding aptly
expanded by McEvoy:
For Grice, and as it happens, for me, a metaphor is an implicature, and
thus cancellable. Grice's example:
A: You're the cream in my coffee.
B: Wrong: I'm your lover.
McEvoy transfers Grice's example of the disimplicature of a metaphor to the
case of 'ferrum':
"[I]f before my gladitorial debut I asked my friend to bring me the best
"ferrum" he could find and he brought not a sword but a shiny iron kettle,
or even just a lump of high quality iron, I would surely think he has
mistaken the sense of my request and the sense in which I used "ferrum"."
So the risk of sticking with a mere conversational implicature (NOT THE
SENSE of the lexeme you are using) to mean stuff, seeing that conversational
implicatures are defeasible, indeterminate, and notably cancellable, may be
the reason why only those with a Griceian inclination would prefer 'ferrum'
(on occasion), to 'gladius'. Geary suggests that the ultimate Griceian
reason is alliterative, "Gladiator, pass me the gladius" sounds redundant in
terms of sounds: while "Gladiator, pass me the iron" does not repeat "sounds
so much", as he puts it -- "It's all different from the lion's point of
view," as he adds with a nod to Witters ("If a lion could speak we could not
understand him.")
Cheers,
Speranza
****
Commentary alla Popper, Grice, &c.
ferrum, i, n. cf. Sanscr. dharti, firmness; Lat. firmus,
So there is a semantic connection between 'firm' and 'iron', as if for the
Ancient Romans.
i. Iron is not firm.
would be analytically false. Makes sense to me.
I iron.
I Lit., Plin. 34, 14, 39, § 138; Lucr. 1, 571; 5, 1241; 1286; Cic. N. D.
2, 60, 151; id. Leg. 2, 18, 45; Caes. B. G. 5, 12, 5; Hor. S. 1, 4, 20 et
saep.: mustum quod resipit ferrum, has a taste of iron, Varr. R. R. 1,
54, 3.—
B Poet.
1 As a fig. of hard-heartedness, unfeelingness, cruelty, etc.: gerere
ferrum in pectore, Ov. M. 9, 614; cf.: ferrum et scopulos gestare in
corde,
id. ib. 7, 33: durior ferro, id. ib. 14, 712; hence for the iron age, id.
ib. 1, 127; 15, 260; Hor. Epod. 16, 65.—
2 As an image of firmness, endurance, Ov. Pont. 4, 10, 3.—
II Transf., any thing made of iron,
Perhaps McEvoy would distinguish between
ii. anything made of iron
and
iii. any thing made of iron.
I wouldn't.
"an iron implement, as a plough: glebas proscindere ferro, Lucil. ap. Non.
401, 19: solum terrae, Lucr. 5, 1295; cf. also, campum, Ov. M. 7, 119:
ferro scindimus aequor, Verg. G. 1, 50; a hatchet: ferro mitiget agrum,
Hor.
Ep. 2, 2, 186; an axe: mordaci velut icta ferro Pinus, id. C. 4, 6, 9; 4,
4,
60 (for which, shortly before, bipennis); cf. Lucr. 6, 168; a dart:
petita
ferro belua, Hor. Epod. 5, 10; the tip of an arrow: exstabat ferrum de
pectore aduncum, Ov. M. 9, 128; the head (of a spear), Tac. G. 6; an iron
stylus: dextra tenet ferrum, id. ib. 9, 522; hair-scissors: solitus
longos ferro
resecare capillos, id. ib. 11, 182; curling-irons: crines vibratos calido
ferro, Verg. A. 12, 100 et saep.
And this is D. Ritchie's area of interest. He ironically referred to the
equivalent for Latin of the OED, but then there's as I prefer the Old
English
Dictionary, the ME dictionary and the former NED, which later became the
OED -- simplifying stuff! So I would think Short and Lewis are following
Murray's idea of citations and stuff.
—Esp. freq. a sword:
Citations:
Drusum ferro. Metellum veneno sustulerat,
Cicerone (as the Italians call him) N. D. 3, 33, 81: in aliquem cum ferro
invadere, id. Caecin. 9, 25: aut ferro aut fame interire,
Giulio Cesare. B. G. (War in Gallia) 5, 30 fin.: uri virgis ferroque
necari,
Orazio. S. 2, 7, 58; cf.: gladiator, ferrum recipere jussus, the stroke of
the sword,
Cicerone, Tusc. 2, 17, 41. So, ferrum et ignis, like our fire and sword, to
denote devastation, utter destruction: huic urbi ferro ignique minitantur,
Cicerone, Phil. 11, 14, 37; cf.: hostium urbes agrique ferro atque igni
vastentur,
Livio, 31, 7, 13: pontem ferro, igni, quacumque vi possent, interrumpant,
id. 2, 10, 4; 30, 6, 9; 1, 59, 1: ecce ferunt Troës ferrumque ignemque
Jovemque In Danaas classes,
Ovidio, M. 13, 91: inque meos ferrum flammasque penates Impulit, id. ib.
12, 551; so, conversely, igni ferroque,
Cicerone, Phil. 13, 21, 47; Liv. 35, 21, 10; cf.
Tacito, A. 14, 38;
Svetonio, Claud. 21: flamma ferroque,
Cicerone, Verr. 2, 4, 35, § 78;
Flor. 2, 17, 15; 3, 18, 14;
Seneca, Const. Sap. 2, 2: ferrum, i. q. arms, for battle, war, force of
arms: ferro, non auro, vitam cernamus, utrique,
Ennio. ap. Cicerone Off. 1, 12, 38 (Ann. v. 202 ed. Vahl.); cf.: quem nemo
ferro potuit superare nec auro, id. ap.
Cicerone, Rep. 3, 3 (Ann. v. 220 ed. Vahl.): adnuit, sese mecum decernere
ferro, id. ap.
Prisc. p. 822 P. (Ann. v. 136 ed. Vahl.): decernere ferro,
Cicerone, de Or. 2, 78, 317;
Livio, 40, 8 fin.;
Virgilio, A. 7, 525; 11, 218: cernere ferro, id. ib. 12, 709: ferro regna
lacessere, with war, id. ib. 12, 186; cf.: atque omnis, Latio quae servit
purpura ferro, i. e. made subject by the force of arms,
Lucano 7, 228.
— Prov.: ferrum meum in igni est, i. q. mea nunc res agitur, Sen. Mort.
Claud.
-- Further commentary should be provided by Geary, or not
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