Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights
John C. Rolfe, Ed.

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[7arg] That Laberius formed many words freely and boldly, and that he even uses numerous words whose Latinity is often questioned.

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LABERIUS, in the mimes which he wrote, coined words with the greatest possible freedom. For he said ¹ mendicimonium for “beggary,” moechimonium, adulterio or adulteritas for “adultery,” depudicavit for “dishonoured,” and abluvium for diluvium, or “deluge”; in the farce which he entitled The Basket ² he uses manuatus est for “he stole,” and in The Fuller ³ he calls a thief manuarius, ⁴ saying: Thief (manuari), you have lost your shame, and he makes many other innovations of the same kind. He also used obsolete and obscene words, such as are spoken only by the dregs of the people, as in the Spinners' Shop: ⁵

Orcus, in truth, will bear you on his shoulders (catomum) ⁶ nude.

He uses ⁷ elutriare for “washing out” linen, and lavandaria, or “wash,” of those things which are sent to be washed. [p. 155] He says: ⁸

Into the fulling business I am hurled (coicior), ⁹

and ¹⁰

O heater (Calidoniam), what's your haste? Would'st aught outstrip?

Also in the Ropemaker ¹¹ he applies the term talabarriunculi to those whom the general public call talabarriones. ¹² He writes in the Compitlia: ¹³

My jaws I've tamed (malaxavi),

and in The Forgetful Man, ¹⁴

This is that dolt (gurdus) who, when two months ago
From Africa I came, did meet me here,
As I did say.

Also in the farce entitled Natalicius he uses ¹⁵ cippus for a small column, obba for a cup, camella for a bowl, ¹⁶ pittacim for a flap ¹⁷ and capitium for a breast band; the last-named passage reads:

A breast-band (capitium) you put on, the tunic's flap (pittacium).

[p. 157] Further, in his Anna Peranna he uses ¹⁸ gubernius for pilot, and plans ¹⁹ for sycophant, and nanus for dwarf; but Marcus Cicero also wrote planus for sycophant in the speech which he delivered In Defence of Cluentius. ²⁰ Moreover Laberius in the farce entitled The Saturnalia ²¹ calls a sausage bolulus and says homo levanna instead of levis or “slight.” In the Necyomantia too he uses the very vulgar expression cocio for what our forefathers called arillator or “haggler.” His words are these: ²²

Two wives? More trouble this, the haggler (cocio) says;
Six aediles he had seen. ²³

However, in the farce which he called Alexandrea, he used ²⁴ the same Greek word which is in common use, but correctly and in good Latin form; for he put emplastrum in the neuter, not in the feminine gender, as those half-educated innovators of ours do. I quote the words of that farce:

What is an oath? A plaster (emplastrum) for a debt.