fōrmāticum

Meaning

1. EarlyMedieval Latincheese

Declension

Origins

By surface analysis, fōrma (“mould”) + -āticum (noun-forming suffix). Has also been suggested to derive from an ellipsis of *[cāseus fōrmāticus] "mould-cheese", although fōrmāticus is not attested as an adjective. Attested in the eighth-century Reichenau Glossary and the Capitulary of Charlemagne (802 CE). More information Displaced the Classical Latin synonym cāseus in Gallo-Romance, though apparently at a relatively late date, considering that the latter has left various reflexes such as the French casier (“cheese-basket”). On the other hand, the early Breton borrowing fourondec shows that fōrmāticum arose prior to the syncope of the penultimate vowel in Gallo-Romance, a change which would have occurred at some point during the eighth or ninth century CE. Compare the single occurrence of fōrmulae in the sense of "cheese-moulds" in Late Latin and the several occurrences of its diminutive fōrmella.