Etymologically
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ad

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈad][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈad][1]

Forms

ad (+ accusative)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *ad (“to”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ed (“to, near, at”).[2][1] The accusative construction is thought to continue an old directional case that merged with the accusative.[1] Early inscriptions also have a form ⟨ar⟩ before labials and /w/, as in arvorsum and ⟨arfuisse⟩.[3]

Cognate with Oscan ad- and Umbrian ař-, Old Irish ad-, Gaulish ad-, Gothic 𐌰𐍄 (at) and English at.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in the Twelve Tables;[5] the OLD's first citation is from Livius Andronicus' Odyssey: ad aedis vēnimus Circae “we came to Circe's house”.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

From motion towards a place (“to, towards”) it came to mark arrival in someone's presence (“before a magistrate”), a goal or purpose (ad bellum “for war”), a limit in space, number or time (“as far as, until”), nearness (“near, at”), and approximate number (“about”).[3][1] It also means “in comparison with” and “according to”.[1][6]

As the prefix ad- it usually assimilates to the next consonant (accēdō, afferō, aggredior).[3] In Medieval Latin it often stands in place of the dative after verbs of saying and giving.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 450 BC – Used in the Twelve Tables.[5]
  • c. 280–200 BC – Livius Andronicus writes ad aedis vēnimus Circae.[3][5]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato tells the grafter to tie the shoots ad medullam, to the pith.[3][5]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. (with accusative) to, towards, up to, into; to the house of.[3][6]
  2. On to, against; in contact with.[3]
  3. Before, in the presence of (a magistrate, the people).[3]
  4. For, with a view to (a purpose).[3][1]
  5. As far as, up to (a limit); until (a time).[3][1]
  6. Near, by, at.[1][6]
  7. About, nearly (with numbers).[1]
  8. In comparison with; according to.[1][6]

Word family

  • English at

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften