Trozo, destrozar and other obscure etymologies of romance-speaking europe

Abstract

The etymology of some ancestral words has been the subject of lengthy diatribes, giving rise to numerous flimsy hypotheses. A more direct exploration of the rich and varied Latin texts is required in order to find the appropriate etymon and to rigorously map out its semantic field. Certain Latin words have been almost ignored, and hypothetical and uncorroborated terms from other languages preceding or in contact with Latin have even been considered before exhausting the possibilities of Vulgar Latin, the root of the speech of every part of Romance-speaking
Europe. This is the case of trādux, tradŭcis, whose senses and high frequency in the Late Roman Empire catch the attention of regular readers of Latin texts.