Quirites

Forms

Quirītēs m pl (genitive Quirītium or Quirītum); third declension^[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[2][1] The common explanation as a compound of Proto-Italic *kom and *wiros (“man”), “fellow men”, is rejected by de Vaan as phonetically not credible (compare cūria) and not compelling in meaning;^[2][1] Wiktionary reports Vine's answer that ⟨quirīt-⟩ and ⟨cūria⟩ may have been shaped under different stress.^[1] De Vaan derives the plural from a base ⟨quiri-⟩ (possibly ⟨queri-⟩), for which roots such as Proto-Indo-European *kʷes- or *kʷer- come into question, or a zero grade of quaerō; since Roman legend links the Quirites and Quirīnus with settlers from the Sabine country, it may also be a loanword.^[2]

Ancient grammarians derived the name from the Sabine town Curēs: Varro and Livy say that the Sabines who came to Rome with King Tatius were called Quirites after it.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ennius already uses it in the Annales for the citizens of Rome collectively,^[3][2] and Cato addresses the people with it in his speeches.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It was the name of the Romans as citizens in their civil, peacetime functions, as against Rōmānī in politics and war,^[4][1] and was the usual form of address in speeches to the people.^[3] Old formulas joined the two names: populus Romanus Quiritium, “the Roman people of the Quirites”.^[3][5] Because the name implied civilians, it was a reproach when used of soldiers: Livy, Tacitus and Suetonius use it so, and Tacitus recalls that Julius Caesar quelled a mutiny of his army with this one word.^[3] Ius Quiritium was the full legal right of a Roman citizen, above all in property.^[3]

Poets also used it for the inhabitants of Cures, for the citizens of any city, and even for the bees of a hive, as Virgil does in the Georgics.^[3][4] The singular Quirīs is mostly poetic.^[3] In the Middle Ages Suger used it of the knights of the king of France.^[6]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it for the Roman citizens in the Annales.^[3][2]
• 234–149 BC – Cato addresses the people as Quirites in his speeches.^[3][7]
• 116–27 BC – Varro derives the name from the Sabine town of Cures.^[3][7]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of the ius Quiritium, the right of Roman citizens.^[3][7]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it as a reproach to soldiers.^[3][7]

Meanings

Proper noun

1. The citizens of Rome collectively, in their civil and peacetime capacity; the usual form of address to the Roman people.^[3][4][1]
2. The inhabitants of the Sabine town of Cures, held to be the Sabine element of the Roman people.^[3][4]
3. (as a reproach to soldiers) Civilians.^[3]
4. (poetic) The citizens of any city; the bees of a hive.^[3]
5. (Medieval Latin) Knights, warriors of the first rank.^[6]

Usage notes

The genitive plural is Quirītium, less often Quirītum.^[3][1] The legal phrase ius Quiritium meant the rights of a Roman citizen, especially over property.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de