English

Noun

glossa ‎(plural glossae)

1. (zoology) The tongue, or lingua, of an insect.

Related terms

• paraglossa

Translations

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin glossa. Compare the doublet chiosa.

Noun

glossa f ‎(plural glosse)

1. gloss (explanatory note)

Related terms

• glossare

Verb

glossa

1. third-person singular present indicative of glossare
2. second-person singular imperative of glossare

Anagrams

• glasso, glassò

Latin

Alternative forms

• glōsa
• gloss. abbreviation

Etymology

Borrowing from Ancient Greek γλῶσσᾰ ‎(glôssa).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈɡlos.sa/, [ˈɡɫɔs.sa]

Noun

glossa f ‎(genitive glossae); first declension

1. an obsolete, foreign, rare, or otherwise obscure or difficult term that requires explanation
   • (Can we find and add a quotation of Ausonius to this entry?)
   • circa AD 95, Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (author), Harold Edgeworth Butler (editor, translator), Institutio Oratoria (1920), book I, chapter i, § 35:

     protinus enim potest interpretationem linguae secretioris, quas Graeci γλώσσας vocant, dum aliud agitur, ediscere et inter prima elementa consequi rem postea proprium tempus desideraturam. et quoniam circa res adhuc tenues moramur, ii quoque versus, qui ad imitationem scribendi proponentur, non otiosas velim sententias habeant sed honestum aliquid monentes.

     He can readily learn the explanations or glosses, as the Greeks call them, of the more obscure words by the way and, while he is still engaged on the first rudiments, acquire what would otherwise demand special time to be devoted to it. And as we are still discussing minor details, I would urge that the lines, which he is set to copy, should not express thoughts of no significance, but convey some sound moral lesson. ― translation from the same source

   1. (Late Latin) an explanation or interpretation of such a word
      • (Can we find and add a quotation of Isidore of Seville to this entry?)
   2. (Medieval Latin) an explanation added to a passage of text, a gloss
2. (in the plural, as glossae) a term applied to collections of such words with explanations, a glossary
   • (Can we find and add a quotation of Marcus Terentius Varro to this entry?)
   1. (Medieval Latin) a series of glosses assembled into a commentary
3. (Medieval Latin) a language, dialect, or peculiar idiom
4. (Medieval Latin) an image or example (of a thing)

Usage notes

• This word is written in untransliterated Greek in some Classical sources.

Declension

First declension.

Synonyms

• (obscure or difficult word requiring explanation): glossēma
• (explanation or interpretation of a glossa): interpretātiō
• (a collection of glossae with explanations): glossārium, glossātūra, glossēmata
• (language, dialect, or idiom): idiōma, lingua
• (image or example [of a thing]): exemplum, imāgō

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• English: gloss
• Italian: chiosa, glossa
• Portuguese: glosa
• Spanish: glosa

References

• glossa in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• 1. GLOSSA in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• 2. GLOSSA in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “glossa”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette, page 716/2.
• glossa in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898) Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “glossa” on page 767/3 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)
• “glossa” on page 470/2 of Jan Frederik Niermeyer’s Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus (1976)