Offa, ofella, offula . A semantic analysis in Apicius’ De re coquinaria

Preview this chapter:

Offa, ofella, offula . A semantic analysis in Apicius’ De re coquinaria, Page 1 of 1

< Previous page | Next page > /docserver/preview/fulltext/10.1484/M.LVLT-EB.5.142508/M.LVLT-EB.5.143305-1.gif

The use of diminutives in technical authors can be seen as a distinctive feature of this kind of works. The lexical creation made with the formation of diminutives contributes to enrich the language. From this point of view, a technical work like De re coquinaria, in which there are many diminutives, can be a proof of this process.

In this paper it is examined the use and the semantic value of the diminutive ofella (found in some recipes of Apicius) in comparison to the base nouns offa. It is analysed also the other diminutive of offa, that is offula. The analysis is made from a diachronic perspective, investigating numerous technical texts. Ofella and offula express a kind of food different from the one expressed by the base noun, so the diminutive form has not the simple value of diminution, but rather it is used to express a new linguistic creation.