Lemovices

Forms

Lemovīcēs m pl (genitive Lemovīcum); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is a Gaulish tribal name.^[1] Wiktionary explains it as from Gaulish *lemos (“elm”) + *vices (“winners”), the first part going back to Proto-Celtic *limos and Proto-Indo-European *h₁élem (“elm”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Caesar names the people twice in the seventh book of the Gallic War,^[2][3][4] as a people of Aquitanian Gaul, neighbours of the Arverni.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Pliny the Elder lists them among the peoples of Aquitania.^[2][4] Their chief town was Augustoritum,^[1][3] and the tribal name, transferred to it, survives in Limoges.^[2][3] The Tironian notes have a singular Limovīx.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 50 BC – Caesar names the Lemovices in the Gallic War.^[2][3][5]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder lists them among the peoples of Aquitania.^[2][4][5]

Meanings

Proper noun

1. The Lemovices, a Celtic people of Aquitania, in what is now the Limousin.^[2][3][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de