castrum
English
Latin
Etymology
From Proto-Italic *kastrom, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱes- (“to cut, cut off, separate”) (Watkins, 1969). An older etymology (1899) derived castrum from Latin casa, and proposed an ultimate etymon from a Sanskrit root (sic) *skad-, "to cover". If directly from Proto-Indo-European *ḱ(e)stróm, cognate with Sanskrit शस्त्र (śastrám-, śástram-, “cutting tool, knife, weapon”).[1] See also castrō, careō.
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈkas.trum/, [ˈkäs̠t̪rʊ̃ˑ]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈkas.trum/, [ˈkäst̪rum]
Noun
castrum n (genitive castrī); second declension
- castle, fort, fortress
- (chiefly plural) several soldiers' tents situated together; hence, a military camp, an encampment
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 5.9:
- Caesar exposito exercitu et loco castris idoneo capto […]
- Caesar, having disembarked his army and chosen a convenient place for the camp […]
- Caesar exposito exercitu et loco castris idoneo capto […]
Usage notes
Use in singular is rarer than that of castellum.
Declension
Second-declension noun (neuter).
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | castrum | castra |
| Genitive | castrī | castrōrum |
| Dative | castrō | castrīs |
| Accusative | castrum | castra |
| Ablative | castrō | castrīs |
| Vocative | castrum | castra |
Descendants
- Old Galician-Portuguese: castro, Castro
- Old Spanish: castro
- Borrowings:
- → Albanian: -kastër
- → Aramaic: קַצְרָא (qaṣrā) / ܩܰܨܪܳܐ (qaṣrā)
- → Berber [languages?]: aɣasru, ɣasru
- → Byzantine Greek: κάστρον (kástron)
- → English: castrum
- → Hebrew: קְצָרָה (qəṣārā)
- → Old English: ceaster
- → Romanian: castru
References
- Olsen, Birgit Anette (1988) The Proto-Indo-European Instrument Noun Suffix *-tlom and its Variants (Historisk-filosofiske Meddelelser; 55), Copenhagen: Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab, →ISBN, page 16: “3.1.1. *k̂əs-trom/*-trah₂ “cutting tool””
- De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “castrum”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 97–98
- “castrum”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “castrum”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- castrum in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- castrum in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
- Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
- veterans; experienced troops: qui magnum in castris usum habent
- to disarm a person: armis (castris) exuere aliquem
- to leave troops to guard the camp: praesidio castris milites relinquere
- to mount guard in the camp: vigilias agere in castris (Verr. 4. 43)
- to keep the troops in camp: copias castris continere
- to remain inactive in camp: se (quietum) tenere castris
- veterans; experienced troops: qui magnum in castris usum habent
- “castrum”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
- Pokorny, Julius (1959) Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 586
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