noun · femininefirst declension
cama
cama f (genitive camae)
Meaning
- Late LatinSpainfemininebed
Camisias vocari quod in his dormimus in camis, id est in stratis nostris. / Cama est brevis et circa terram; Graeci enim χαμαὶ breve dicunt. They are called bedshirts for we don them to sleep on beds, that is on our beds. / A bed is low and close to the ground; the Greeks therefore call it χαμαὶ (khamaì, “low”).
ca. 600, Isidorus Hispalensis [Isidore of Seville], Etymologiae, 19, 22, 29 & 20, 11, 2. In: Isidori Hispalensis episcopi etymologiarum sive originum libri XX. Recognovit brevique adnotatione critica instruxit W. M. Linday. Tomus II libros XI–XX continens, Oxonium, 1911
Declension
| form | singular | plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | cama | camae |
| genitive | camae | camārum |
| dative | camae | camīs |
| accusative | camam | camās |
| ablative | camā | camīs |
| vocative | cama | camae |
cama, ae, f. χαμαί = humi,
I. a small bed near the ground, Isid. Orig. 20, 11, 2.
Origins
Isidore, quoted below, folk-etymologises a dubious Greek origin. Still, no solid alternative is available. The distribution of its descendants may suggest it was borrowed from Paleo-Hispanic.
Descendants
- Portuguesecamafrom Old Galician-Portuguese cama
- Spanishcama
- Asturiancama
- Mirandesecama
- Galiciancamafrom Old Galician-Portuguese cama