Etymologically
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animosus

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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

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