The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville - Pot-pourri

Book XX
(Provisions and various implements) 1
i. Tables (De mensis) 1.Daedalus was the first to make
atable and a chair. The first to devise the equipment
for cooking was a certain Apicius, who died by his
own choice, after stuffing himself with dainties – and
deservedly so, because he who is slave to his maw and
to gluttony kills both the soul and the body. The word
‘table’ (mensa) wasmade from ‘eating’ (esus) and‘consuming’
(comesus), for a table has no other use. 2.Acouch
(torus)issocalledfromthetwisted(tortus)grasses that
are placed under the shoulders of those reclining on it.
The ‘semicircular couch’ (stibadium)isnamedfromlog
(stipes), as if it were stipadium,because it began as such.
The ‘large dining couch’ (accubitum) issocalledfrom
food (cibus), as if it were ‘for the food’ (ad cibatum)ofa
banquet.
3. Amongthe Greeks a banquet (convivium) derives
from the idea of ‘drinking together’ (compotatio), from
their word , “drink.” 2 But in Latin it is more correctly
derived from ‘living in company’ (convictus), or
because there one has conversation about life (vita).
Again, convivium from a multitude of ‘people eating
together’ (convescentes), for a private table is for sustenance,
but it is not a banquet. A banquet has three
elements: reclining, eating, and drinking. Reclining, as
(Vergil, Aen. 1.708):
Bidden to recline on the decorated couches.
Eating and drinking, as (cf. Vergil, Aen. 1.723)
After the first lull in the banquet, when the tables were
removed, they set out great bowls and garland the wines.
ii. Foodstuffs (De escis) 1. Food (cibus) issocalled
because it is taken (capere) inthe mouth, just as foodstuff
(esca) because the ‘mouth takes’ (os capit) it. Victuals
(victus) are rightly so called, because they sustain
life (vita); hence to ask someone to dinneristermedto
‘invite’ (invitare). 2.Nourishment (alimonia)issocalled
1 This book is untitled in the early manuscripts.
2 Isidore refers to the Greek term .
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because the body is nourished (alere) byconsuming it.
Youths take nourishment in ordertogrow,theelderlyto
endure, for the flesh cannot subsist unless it is strengthened
with nourishment. Nutriment (alimentum)isthat
by which we are nourished (alere), and support (alimonium)isresponsibility
for nourishing.
3. Affluence(affluentia) issonamed as if it were
a‘pouringout’(effusio) ofsomething overabundant,
beyond what is enough, and there is no restraint. 4.Opulence
(opulentia)issocalled from ‘assistance’ (ops), and if
youexamine it you will find that it observes moderation.
For how can anything excessive be of assistance (opitulari),
when too much is often more troublesome than too
little? 5. ‘Sumptuous meals’ (epulae) aresocalled from
the opulence (opulentia) ofthings. ‘Ordinary meals’
(epulae simplices) aredividedintotwo necessary elements,
bread and wine, and two categories beyond these,
namely, what people seek out for eating from the land
and from the sea. 6.Feasts (dapes)areforkings,andepulae
for private persons. Delicacies (deliciae)aresocalled
because people are delighted (delectare) bythem, and
have a sweet tooth for them. 7. Pulmentum takes its name
from puls (“gruel”); it is named correctly whether it is
eaten in the form of gruel alone or whether something
else is eaten in a mixture of gruel. 8.Satiety (satietas) and
fullness (saturitas)are distinct, for satiety can be spoken
of with regard to asinglefood,becauseitisenough
(satis), but fullness takes its name from a ‘mixed dish’
(satura)thatismadeupofavariedpreparationoffoods.
9. Debauchery (crapula) isimmoderate voracity, as
if it were a ‘raw meal’ (cruda epula), by whose rawness
the heart is burdened and the stomach is made to suffer
indigestion. Now immoderate voracity is a vice, and
only as much as is sufficient for sustenance and one’s
nature is healthy. 10. Breakfast (iantaculum, i.e. ientaculum)
isthefirst food with which a fast (ieiunium) is
broken – hence it is named. Nigidius (fr. 109): “We ourselves
have violated fasts with light breakfasts.” 11.Lunch
(prandium) isnamedforthe ‘preparations for eating’
(apparatus edendi). Hence the ancients properly called