ancus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈaŋ.kʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈaŋ.kus]^[1]

Forms

ancus (feminine anca, neuter ancum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

According to de Vaan it is inherited from Proto-Italic *anko- (“bent”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂(e)nḱ-o- (“bending”).^[2][1] Cognates include Sanskrit अङ्कस् (áṅkas-, “bend in a road”) and Ancient Greek ἄγκων (ankṓn, “bend of the arm”), and the OLD compares uncus “hooked”.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is known only from Paul the Deacon's epitome of Festus.^[4][2][5]

Semantic evolution

Festus says that a man is called ancus who has a crooked arm that cannot be stretched out.^[4][6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Having a crooked arm that cannot be straightened.^[4][6]

Related words

• uncus
• ancora

Usage notes

Ancus (Ancus Marcius) was the fourth king of Rome, from Ennius on; de Vaan lists the name among the derivatives of ancus.^[3][2] Isidore says he founded a city at the mouth of the Tiber.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).