10.06.25: blunt razors, blood-letting and glowing walnut shells; Comenius LXXVI; at the barber’s shop [5]

 An interesting aspect of looking at Latin from the Renaissance period is that – as is still done – they would create or “rework” Classical Latin words to convey ideas that, during the Classical period, did not exist. In earlier posts, the Latin words for certain types of fruit and musical instruments were discussed. Posts are also being included on the words for games.

sāpō, sāpōnis [3/m]: soap, but …

“… though it denoted not a detergent, but a sort of pomade used for colouring the hair a light brown. It was made with goat's tallow and ashes, and was sold in balls, in which form it was imported by the Romans from Germany and Gaul, and used to bleach the hair.” (Harry Thurston Peck: Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities)

lixīv(i)us, -a, -um and the noun lixīvum, -ī [2/n]: both, but we can see why Comenius uses it to refer to soap suds since they originally refer to lye, a chemical compound used in soap-making

“A formula for making a soap-like substance was written on a Sumerian clay tablet around 2500 BC. This was produced by heating a mixture of oil and wood ash, the earliest recorded chemical reaction, and used for washing woolen clothing.”

calamistrum, -ī [2/n]: curling iron / tongs

crīspō, -āre, -āvī [1]: curl

crispus, -a, -um: curly; crimped (of hair) > Engl. derivative: crisp

linteum, -ī [2/n]: linen cloth; bedsheet; sail; towel (but see the Catullus quotation in the next post); “lintea: no clear line seems to have been drawn between handkerchiefs, napkins, and even towels” (Merrill)

pēlvis, -is [3/f]: basin

tergō, -ere, tersī [3] (or tergeō, -ēre [2]): wipe

From the authors:

[1] And did the Romans have curling tongs? You bet they did, and they go back certainly as far as the Egyptians; image #1: bronze hair curling tongs and trimmer, Egypt, 1575-1194 (Science Museum, UK)

At ita mē volsellae, pecten, speculum, calamistrum meum bene mē amāssint meaque *axitia* (= axicia) linteumque extersuī (Plautus) │ And so may my tweezers, my comb, my looking-glass, my crisping-iron, and my hair-scissors and scrubbing-towel love me well

axicia, -ae [1/f]: pair of shears / scissors

extersus, -ūs [4/m]: rubbing dry / down

speculum, -ī [2/n]: mirror; image #2: Roman silver mirror 1^st century AD

volsella, -ae [1/f]: a pair of tweezers; image #3