scudicia

Latin

Etymology

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). 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.

Noun

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:

     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

First-declension noun.

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

Further reading

• scudicia in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• R. E. Latham, D. R. Howlett, & R. K. Ashdowne, editors (1975–2013), “scudicia”, in Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources‎^[1], London: Oxford University Press for the British Academy, →ISBN, →OCLC