r/LatinCountries

Latin *alvīna (“beehive”) is recorded as a reconstructed term based on Romanian albină, Aromanian alghinã, Megleno-Romanian ălbină, Istro-Romanian albire (all meaning “bee”), and Venetan albina (“hive”), derived from classical Latin alvus or alveus. — But, in fact, the term is attested in 2nd century, as a deformation ("vulgar") variant of alveāria, in Flavius Caper, De verbis dubiis: Alvearia, non alvinae.

Therefore, the etymology is: alveus > alveārium - alveāria > alvina > albina etc. The fact that the pair alveāria - alvinae is recorded as a plural might already be a hint toward the semantic evolution of Eastern Romance: hive = many bees → the bee.

Made a request on Wiktionary on this.

Marked by dictionaries as only a reconstruction (brosca - broscus) from Romance languages, the origin of Romanian broască (frog) and of Albanian breshkë (turtle) is in fact attested in Late Latin (Papias: rubeta ranae genus bruscus dicit vulgo) — Dan Ungureanu 2024, Istoria limbii române, 233.

https://preview.redd.it/fhm87g86c7lg1.png?width=1841&format=png&auto=webp&s=39159536b9f230fe2dbbe3c4eaed0b236c270f2f

Papias text here.

Ungureanu also suggests the possibility of a connection between Lombard brosco, Romansh rušk, ruašć, Veronese roschi, and Italian rospo. See also Elisa De Roberto, Glossari, versioni e proverbi:

>Maggiori ragguagli otteniamo ricorrendo al vocabolario di Papias, che sotto rubeta inserisce oltre alla definizione di «ranae genus», anche la dicitura «bruscus dicit vulgo»: dal lat. volg. bruscus/*broscus ‘rospo’ si sarebbe sviluppato il lat. medievale roscus, che avrebbe dato poi nei volgari italiani rospo (ma in milanese antico si ha ancora brosco, usato da Bonvesin).

>More information we get by resorting to the vocabulary of Papias, which under rubeta inserts, in addition to the definition of «ranae genus», mentions also the words «bruscus dicit vulgo»: from the lat. volg. bruscus/*broscus ‘rospo’ would have developed the medieval lat. roscus, which would then give in the vulgar Italian dialects rospo = toad (but in ancient Milanese we still have brosco, used by Bonvesin).