Girba
Girba grece pila pistatoria mortarius Cassius felix in pluribus locis.
Apparatus:
pila AC ef | pilla B
moratrius (-rius A) AC | mortarium (-riũ B e) B ef
Translation:
Girba is Greek for Latin pila pistatoria {lit. "mortar or cup-shaped vessel for crushing"} or mortarius id. The word is found in Cassius Felix in numerous passages.
Commentary:
The word occurs in Cassius Felix's De medicina, chapter XXXI. Ad polypum et ozaenas {"Against polyps and ozaenae {i.e. fetid nasal polypus}", where it says, p.72: in girba contusis - "having well pounded {the ingredients} in a mortar vessel …". Girba also occurs in Dioscorides Longobardus.
Girba is not a Greek word but is of Semitic origin, cf. Arabic: ﺟﺮﺍﺏ /ğirāb/ "sack, bag, travelling bag; knapsack; scrotum; covering, case; sheath, scabbard for sword" (Wehr). It entered late Latin changing its meaning from an original "container made of hide for liquid" to becoming synonymous with pila and mortarium {both meaning "mortar vessel"}. For a more detailed history of the word with further references, cf. Fraisse, Cassius Felix p.72, annotation 241.
Wilf Gunther 22/11/13