Editing Labarum (section)

==Etymology==
Beyond its derivation from Latin ''labarum'', the etymology of the word is unclear.<ref>H. Grégoire, "L'étymologie de 'Labarum'" ''Byzantion'' '''4''' (1929:477–82)</ref> The Oxford English Dictionary offers no further derivation from within Latin.<ref>Hoad, T. F. ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology'' (repr. 1996) {{ISBN|0-19-283098-8}}</ref> Some derive it from Latin ''labare'' 'to totter, to waver' (in the sense of the "waving" of a flag in the breeze) or ''laureum [vexillum]'' ("laurel standard").<ref name="ODB">Kazhdan, p. 1167</ref> An origin as a loan into Latin from a Celtic language or [[Basque language|Basque]] has also been postulated.<ref name=EB1911/> There is a traditional Basque symbol called the [[lauburu]]; though the name is only attested from the 19th century onwards<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.euskaltzaindia.net/index.php?option=com_oeh&view=frontpage&Itemid=413&lang=eu |title=Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |publisher=Euskaltzaindia |access-date=12 January 2013}}</ref> the motif occurs in engravings dating as early as the 2nd century AD.<ref name="Camille">M. Camille Jullian in his preface to ''La tombe basque'', according to [http://www.euskomedia.org/aunamendi/87432?idi=en&clave=87432&op=4&primR=21&regs=10&EIKVOGEN=lauburu&pos=29&epi=64714#mrc1 Lauburu: La swástika rectilínea] (Auñamendi Entziklopedia).</ref>

[[Harry Thurston Peck]], in his ''Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities'', wrote: "The etymology of the term itself has given rise to many conflicting opinions. Some derive the name from labor; others from εὐλάβεια, 'reverence'; others from λαμβάνειν, 'to take'; and others, again, from λάφυρα, 'spoils'. One writer makes Labarum to be like [[S.P.Q.R.]], only a notatio, or combination of initials to represent an equal number of terms; and thus, L.A.B.A.R.V.M. will stand for ''Legionum aquila Byzantium antiqua Roma urbe mutavit''."<ref name="Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities"/>