vespillō¹

Meaning

1. an undertaker who buries paupers
   Near-synonyms: pollīnctor /pollictor, libitīnārius
   Vespae et vespillones dicuntur, qui funerandis corporibus officium gerunt, non a minutis illis volucribus, sed quia vespertino tempore eos efferunt, qui funebri pompa duci propter inopiam nequeunt. Hi etiam vespulae vocantur.They are called vespae and vespillones, who perform the function of burying corpses, not from those little flying creatures, but because they carry out in the evening [vespertino tempore] those who because of poverty cannot be carried in a funeral procession. They are also called vespulae.1839 [8th century CE], Paulus Diaconus, edited by Karl Otfried Müller, Excerpta ex libris Pompeii Festi De significatione verborum, page 368, line 17:
2. a ghoul, graverobber

Declension

Origins

Uncertain. Possibly a derivative of vespa (“wasp”). Festus describes vespa and vespula as synonyms of vespillo in this sense, but denies a connection to the 'wasp' lexeme and instead gives a (likely folk etymology) derivation of these three terms from vesper (“evening”). Thus, a semantic connection with wasps was apparently not obvious to Festus. Regardless, some modern etymologists have favored this derivation; Benveniste 1923-1924:124f argued that wasps were noted for carrying the body of their prey to their nests. The second element may be the diminutive suffix -illus, followed by -ō, -ōnis m (suffix forming appellations) making the overall structure vespa + -illus + -ō. De Vaan cites Watkins 1969 for a proposal that the word comes instead from a PIE root for 'clothing' or 'shroud' and is cognate to Hittite [script needed] (wašpaš, “clothes”).

Meaning

1. A Roman cognomen — famously held by
2. Quintus Lucretius Vespillo, a Roman politician

Declension

Origins

From vespillō (“undertaker”).

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries