Iunius
Iunius1 Roman family name
Pronunciation
Forms
Iūnius (feminine Iūnia, neuter Iūnium); first/second-declension adjective[1]
Etymology
The family name is from Latin Iūnō + -ius according to Wiktionary,[1] and Köbler also refers it to Iūnō.[2] De Vaan reports that Fortson connects the family name with a stem ⟨iou-⟩ instead.[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Cicero speaks of the lex Iunia, a law named after a member of the gens.[4][5]
Semantic evolution
It is the name of the Junian gens, and as a noun of its members, among them Lucius Junius Brutus, the traditional founder of the Republic, and the two Bruti, Marcus and Decimus.[4][6][5] As an adjective it describes what belongs to or is named after the gens or one of its members, especially laws such as the lex Iunia et Licinia.[4][5]
Timeline
- 81–43 BC – Cicero mentions the lex Iunia et Licinia.[4][2]
- 59 BC–17 AD – Livy names Lucius Junius Brutus and the Junian house.[4]
- 98–115 AD – Tacitus speaks of the familia Iunia.[5]
Meanings
Adjective
- The name of a Roman gens; as a noun, a member of it.[4][5]
- Of or named after the Junian gens or one of its members, especially of laws.[4][5]
Iunius2 June
Pronunciation
Forms
Iūnius (feminine Iūnia, neuter Iūnium); first/second-declension adjective[1]
Etymology
The month name is from Latin Iūnō + -ius.[4][1] De Vaan reports Rix's proposal that it is derived from a feminine stem ⟨iūnī-⟩ “young”,[3] and Etymonline takes it as probably a contraction of Iūnōnius (“sacred to Juno”).[7] Bede reports that Romulus made May the third month and June the fourth in honour of the elders and the iūniōrēs, the younger men, into whom he divided the people.[8]
Earliest recorded meaning
Ennius dates an eclipse to the Nones of June: nonis Iunis soli luna obstitit (“on the Nones of June the moon blocked the sun”).[9][4]
Semantic evolution
In mensis Iunius, or as a noun alone, it is the month of June; as an adjective it also means “of June”, as in Kalendae Iuniae and nonae Iuniae.[4][6] Medieval Latin kept both uses in dating,[8][10] and English took the name as June about 1300.[7]
Timeline
- 204–169 BC – Ennius dates an eclipse to the nonae Iuniae.[4][9]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses Iunius alone for the month.[5][9]
- 1st third of the 8th century – Bede explains the name from the iuniores.[8][2]
- c. 1300 – English has the month name as Iun, June.[7]
Meanings
Adjective
Word family
- Iūnīlicia
Related words
- Iūnō
- English June
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
- ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson