globellum

Latin

Alternative forms

• lubellum, iubellum, gubellum

Etymology

From globulus +‎ -lus or globus +‎ -ellus. Likely influenced in its semantics by glomus (“ball of yarn”, cf. especially its diminutive *glomellus).

Attested- albeit as a hypothetical form- by Isidore in the passage quoted below, where he discusses the origin of lubellum. He apparently cites both forms with the ending -um, despite the masculine gender suggested by his own etymology.

Other manuscripts of Isidore's work have iubellum or gubellum (⟨g⟩ = [d͡ʒ]?) instead of lubellum, reflecting various palatalized outcomes of initial Latin /ɡl-/, continued in some of the Iberian descendants. The form lubellum is corroborated by the Liber Glossarum, published not long after Isidore's death.

Noun

globellum ? (Late Latin)

1. little ball (? presumably)
   • c. 600–625 CE, Isidore, Etymologiae:

     Lubellum corrupte a globo dictum per diminutionem, quasi globellum.

     Lubellum is incorrectly used as a diminutive from globus, as if it were globellum.

Descendants

• Gallo-Romance:
  • Old Occitan: globel
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Aragonese: dobiello, dibiello, chobillo, chubillo, libiecho
  • Asturian: duviello, chuviechu
  • Leonese: uviello (Sanabria)
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: lovelo, novelo (documented from 1258)
    • Fala: nuvelu
    • Galician: nobelo, dobelo
    • Portuguese: novelo
  • Old Spanish: loviello, luviello, oviello
    • Spanish: ovillo

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “globellus”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 4: G H I, page 157