Etymologically
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antehac

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [anˈtʰaːk], [anˈtaːk][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [anˈtak], [anˈtak][1]

Forms

antehāc (not comparable)[1] The old form antidhāc is frequent in Plautus.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is a compound of ante (“before”) and the adverb hāc (“by this way”), from hic (“this”).[2][4][1][5] The old form ⟨antidhāc⟩ has the same ⟨antid-⟩ as ⟨antideā⟩ for anteā.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Ennius,[5] whose Annals speak of minds that used to stand upright before this time.[2]

Semantic evolution

It means before this time, up till now, and in the past, before now; also before then.[2] Plautus often has the old form antidhāc;[3][4] he also uses antehāc when a character says they had not seen before now fathers become the rivals of their sons at the pimps'.[2]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius, before this time.[2][5]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus in the form antidhāc.[2][3][4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Before this time, up till now, previously.[2][1]
  2. In the past, formerly; before then.[2][1]

References

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