Etymologically
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Quintilis

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kʷiːnˈtiː.lɪs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [kʷinˈtiː.lis][1]

Forms

Quīntīlis m (genitive Quīntīlis); third declension; adjective Quīntīlis, neuter Quīntīle[1][2] It is also spelled Quīnctīlis.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin quīntus (“fifth”) + -īlis,[2][1] as the fifth month counted from March, the first month of the older Roman year.[3][4][1] As a noun it stands for Quīntīlis mēnsis (“the fifth month”).[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero dates letters by it: nōnīs Quīntīlibus vēnī in Puteolānum, “on the Nones of Quintilis I came to my villa at Puteoli”.[2]

Semantic evolution

It named the month that followed June until it was renamed Iūlius in honour of Julius Caesar,[3][4][5] in 44 BC.[1] Suetonius reports the renaming.[3] As an adjective it qualified the days of the month, as in Livy's Īdibus Quīntīlibus, on the Ides of July.[3][6]

Bede notes that July had earlier been called Quintilis from its number, and an early glossary equates the two names.[7] Old English and Old High German glosses render it.[8]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero dates his letters by the month.[2][6][8]
  • 59 BC–AD 17 – Livy dates events to the Ides of Quintilis.[3][6][8]
  • 44 BC – The month is renamed Iūlius.[1]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius records the renaming.[3][8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Quintilis, the fifth month of the early Roman year, later called Iūlius, July.[2][3][4]

Adjective

  1. Of the month Quintilis: Nōnae Quīntīlēs, the Nones of July.[2][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  5. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  9. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.