Critica linguistica: sul lemma obstetrix nell’Appendix Probi 5

The article deals with a passage of the famous Appendix Probi, i.e. the fifth fragment of the text immediately following Ps. Probus’ Instituta artium, which contains a precious antibarbarus, presumably written around the middle of the 5th century CE; the Appendix is located in the final portion of the codex Neapolitanus 1 (7th century CE) and its correct interpretation is notoriously very difficult because of the many damages suffered by the manuscript. The passage at issue, after may attempts, is read nowadays obstx non ossetrix; the late Latin assimilation /ps/ > /ss/ is here commented with particular reference to chronology, in the light of the available sources. The presence of the assimilation is corroborated by a new reading of a tachygraphical gloss, which was originally written to the left of the main text: obs(t)etrix, nam ab ossequio dicitur. Interestingly, this new proposal shows a paretimology of the lemma, that confirms not only the disputed reading obst non ossetrix in the Appendix, but also provides a key to interpret more accurately the regressive assimilation /ps/ > /ss/.