Etymologically
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acerbe

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [aˈkɛr.beː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [aˈt͡ʃɛr.be][1]

Forms

acerbē (comparative acerbius, superlative acerbissimē)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin acerbus (“harsh, bitter”) + -ē.[2][1] De Vaan derives acerbus from an adjective Proto-Italic *akro- (“sharp”), the base also of ācer (“sharp”), which he traces to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ-ro- (“sharp”).[3] Cognate with Oscan akrid (“sharply”), Ancient Greek ἄκρος (ákros, “highest, outermost”) and Lithuanian aštrùs (“sharp”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,[4] who uses it of a voice ringing out most harshly.[2]

Semantic evolution

Its senses follow the adjective: with a harsh sound, then cruelly or bitterly, as Cicero's attacking dear friends too harshly.[2] With verbs of feeling it means with pain or annoyance, and acerbe ferre is to take something hard, a phrase Cicero uses often.[2][5] It also means severely or strictly, as Livy's watches kept more strictly, and with verbs of dying, prematurely.[2] Seneca contrasts acerbe et aspere with molliter.[5]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of a harsh voice, of bitter attacks and of an untimely death.[2][4]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of watches kept strictly.[2][4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. With a harsh sound, stridently.[2][1]
  2. Cruelly, harshly, bitterly.[2][1]
  3. With pain or annoyance;[2][5] acerbe ferre, to take something hard.[2][5]
  4. Severely, strictly.[2][1]
  5. Of dying, before one's time.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften