animosus

Forms

animōsus (feminine animōsa, neuter animōsum, comparative animōsior, superlative animōsissimus, adverb animōsē); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin animus (“mind; courage, spirit”) + -ōsus.^[2][1][3] De Vaan traces ⟨animus⟩ to Proto-Italic *anamo- (“breath, spirit”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁-mo- (“breath”), cognate with Oscan anamúm (“courage, energy; breath”), Old Irish anim (“soul”) and Ancient Greek ἄνεμος (ánemos, “wind”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest example is the Atellan farce writer Novius, in whom someone promises a strong and spirited man;^[2] Varro advises against slaves who are either timid or too spirited.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It is “spirited, bold, courageous”, and of actions and attitudes brave: Cicero says we dislike timid gladiators and favour the brave and spirited.^[5][2] It could also be “proud, great-souled”, as Ovid's Pyrrhus, proud of his father's image, and “energetic, vigorous”, as Tacitus' lavish corrupter of soldiers.^[2] Poets apply it to winds, sea and fire, “boisterous, violent”, as Virgil's East winds that break the woods.^[2][5]

In Medieval Latin it described someone of fervent faith.^[6]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro of spirited slaves.^[5][7]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of brave gladiators.^[5][7]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil of stormy winds.^[2][7]
• Medieval Latin – of fervent faith.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Spirited, bold, courageous; of style, impetuous.^[2][5][1]
2. Proud, haughty; great-souled.^[2][1]
3. Energetic, vigorous in pursuing an aim.^[2][1]
4. Of winds, sea or fire, boisterous, stormy, violent.^[2][5]
5. (Medieval Latin) Of fervent faith.^[6]

Word family

• animōsitās
• animōsē

Related words

• animus
• anima

Usage notes

Lewis and Short give a separate adjective from anima (“breath, air”), “full of air”, for Ovid's breath-filled throat and the blowing winds, and “full of life”; the OLD treats all these uses under one word from ⟨animus⟩.^[5][2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de