Etymologically
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amoenus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [aˈmoe̯.nʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [aˈmɛː.nus][1]

Forms

amoenus (feminine amoena, neuter amoenum, comparative amoenior, superlative amoenissimus, adverb amoenē or amoeniter); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

Its origin is unexplained.[1][2] The OLD and Lewis & Short compare amō “to love”.[3][4] De Vaan notes that the diphthong /oe/ in a second syllable is rare in Latin, and that Meiser reconstructs *ama-wen-o- from a root *h₂emh₃- “to grab”, which cannot be proved.[5] A borrowing from a substrate language has also been suggested.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus.[5][6] Ennius speaks of a river flowing gently through a lovely city.[3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC and Ennius 204–169 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant pleasing to the senses, beautiful or charming, especially of places and buildings, as Cicero says nothing is lovelier than the island in the Fibrenus.[3][7] It was also said of pleasant activities and of a delightful day, as in Plautus.[3]

Medieval writers used it of a monastery beautifully set between woods and sea.[8] It was borrowed into Italian ameno, French amène and Spanish ameno.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of a delightful day.[3][6]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius speaks of a lovely city.[3][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero praises the island in the Fibrenus.[7][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Pleasant, charming, lovely (of places).[3]
  2. Pleasant, agreeable (of activities).[3]

Word family

  • amoenifer
  • amoenitās
  • inamoenus
  • peramoenus
  • amoenē
  • amoeniter
  • amoenō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ 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