zygostates

Latin

FWOTD – 20 February 2017

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ζυγοστάτης (zugostátēs, “public weigher”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /zyˈɡos.ta.teːs/, [d̪͡z̪ʏˈɡɔs̠t̪ät̪eːs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /d͡ziˈɡos.ta.tes/, [d̪͡z̪iˈɡɔst̪ät̪es]

Noun

zygostatēs m (genitive zygostatae); first declension

1. a master of the weights, weighmaster
   • 529 C.E. — Justinian I, Corpus Juris Civilis: Codex Justinianus, 10.73.2

     quotiens de qualitate solidorum orta fuerit dubitatio placet quem sermo graecus appellat per singulas civitates constitutum zygostaten qui pro sua fide atque industria neque fallat neque fallatur contentionem dirimere

     It is settled that when any doubt arises with reference to the purity of the solidi paid, the dispute shall be decided by the officer styled zygostat in Greek, who is appointed in each city, and who shall render his decision to the best of his ability and information.

Declension

First-declension noun (masculine Greek-type with nominative singular in -ēs).

	singular	plural
nominative	zygostatēs	zygostatae
genitive	zygostatae	zygostatārum
dative	zygostatae	zygostatīs
accusative	zygostatēn	zygostatās
ablative	zygostatē	zygostatīs
vocative	zygostatē	zygostatae

Related terms

• zygostasium

References

• “zygostates”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• "zygostates", in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• zygostates in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.