Apala
Apala ova .i. mollia nam apalotis mollities apalos mollis levis tener apala mollia et cetera.
Apparatus:
Apala ABCH f | Apalla e
mollia ACH ef | molia B
mollicies AC ef | molicies | moloties H
apalos H ef | apallos AC | apolos B
mollis (–is f) ACH ef | molis B
apala mollia.om. f
apala ABCH | apola e
mollia AH e | molia BC
et cetera.om. BH ef
Translation:
Apala eggs means soft-boiled, and apalotis means 'softness' and apalos means 'soft, light, tender' and apala means 'soft' (neuter pl.}, et cetera.
Commentary:
The Greek adjective ἁπαλός /hapalós/, in later Greek pronounced /apalós/, "soft to the touch, tender", seems to have been adopted into Latin in late Antiquity as a special cookery term for "soft-boiled" in relation to ova {"eggs"}. The word is recorded in these authors:
- Caelius Aurelianus Tard. 2, 7, ed. Drabkin (1950: 632): ova hapala; also: [[1]] (1950: 606), line 27, et passim.
- Theodorus Priscianus 2, 38, ed. Rose (1894: 137): ova sic apala and 2, 31, ed. Rose (1894: 128) a variant, not recorded in LSJ but in Lewis & Short (1879): ova thermapala {"hot soft-boiled eggs"} [[2]].
- Scribonius Largus 103, ed. Sconocchia (1983: 56): apala ova.
- Apicius, 7, 17.3, ed. Grocock (2006: 258) in ovis apalis {"{sauce} for soft-boiled eggs”}.
ἁπαλότης /hapalótēs/ "softness, tenderness" is a noun derived from ἁπαλός /hapalós/, pronounced /apalótis/ in late Greek; and ἁπαλά /hapalá/, later /apalá/, is the neuter pl. form that goes with ova {"eggs"}.
Wilf Gunther 04/01/14
See also: Ova apala
