LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

palla

palla f (genitive pallae)
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. feminineA rectangular piece of cloth worn by ladies in Ancient Rome and fastened with brooches.

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

magna vestis mātrōnae, quae forīs suprā cēterās vestēs geritur.
palla -ae f — in Mille Verba, ch. Vestis et Ōrnāmenta

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativepallapallae
genitivepallaepallārum
dativepallaepallīs
accusativepallampallās
ablativepallāpallīs
vocativepallapallae

palla, ae, f. kindred with pellis; cf. Doed. Syn. 5, p. 211,
I. a long and wide upper garment of the Roman ladies, held together by brooches, a robe, mantle (cf.: stola, peplum, chlamys), Plaut. As. 5, 2, 35; id. Men. 1, 2, 21; 56; id. Truc. 5, 54; Hor. S. 1, 2, 99; id. Epod. 5, 65: pro longae tegmine pallae Tigridis exuviae per dorsum a vertice pendent, Verg. A. 11, 576: palla superba, Ov. Am. 3, 13, 26: obscura, Mart. 11, 104, 7: scissā pallā, Juv. 10, 262; cf. Becker, Gall. 3, p. 144 (2d edit.).—
II. Transf.
A. In the poets also of a garment worn by men, e. g. of the dress of a tragic actor: personae pallaeque repertor honestae Aeschylus, Hor. A. P. 278; Ov. Am. 2, 18, 15; 3, 1, 12; of the cithara-player Arion, id. F. 2, 107; of Phœbus, id. M. 11, 166; id. Am. 1, 8, 59; Tib. 3, 4, 35; of Boreas, Ov. M. 6, 705; of Mercury, Stat. Th. 7, 39; of Osiris, Tib. 1, 8, 47; of Bacchus, Stat. Ach. 1, 262; of Jason, Val. Fl. 3, 718.—
B. An under-garment: citharoedus palla inaurata indutus, Auct. Her. 4, 47, 60: pallamque induta rigentem insuper aurato circumvelatur amictu, Ov. M. 14, 262; Val. Fl. 3, 525: Gallica, Mart. 1, 93, 8; Stat. Th. 7, 39; App. Flor. 15.—
C. A curtain: περιπέτασμα, velum, palla, Gloss. Philox.: cum inter dicentes et audientem palla interesset, Sen. Ira, 3, 22, 2.

Origins

From Proto-Italic *palasā, from Proto-Indo-European *pĺ̥h₂seh₂, cognate to Hittite 𒉺𒆷𒄴𒊭𒀸 (pa-la-aḫ-ša-aš, “female garment”). This etymology was originally proposed by Stefan Höfler and is accepted as convincing by Blanca María Prósper. No etymology is decided on by De Vaan, who floats possibilities like Proto-Indo-European *pel- (“to cover, wrap; skin, hide; cloth”) (akin to pellis (“hide, pelt”)), or possibly a substrate loan.

Descendants
  • Englishpalla
  • Italianpalla
  • Romanianpală
  • Indonesianpallafrom Italian palla
  • Maltesepallafrom Italian palla
  • Welshpallfrom Proto-Brythonic *pall

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesPallaPalla The palla and its Greek counterpart, the πέπλος, were identical in shape with the pallium or ἱμάτιον, being square or rectangular shawls or plai…

Quick answers

What does palla mean in Latin?
palla, a noun, means “A rectangular piece of cloth worn by ladies in Ancient Rome and fastened with brooches.”.
What is the genitive of palla?
The genitive singular is pallae. palla is feminine, first declension.