Etymologically
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anxie

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈaːŋk.si.ɛ], [ˈaŋk.si.eː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈaŋk.si.e], [ˈaŋk.si.e][1]

Forms

anxiē (comparative anxius, superlative anxissimē)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin anxius (“anxious, worried”) + -ē, an adverb formed from the adjective.[2][3][4] The adjective comes from angō (“to squeeze, distress”),[5][6] which goes back to Proto-Italic *ange/o- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂emǵʰ-e/o- (“to tie, tighten”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Sallust's Jugurtha has it in the sense “with chagrin”: a commander, the historian says, would not have taken the loss of his province so badly if it had gone to anyone other than Marius.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

In Seneca the Younger, Pliny the Elder and Gellius it means “anxiously, with excessive care”, of meticulous writing, inquiry or self-presentation;[2][7] Apuleius uses it of describing things one by one in detail.[8] Gellius also uses it of an obscure text that is not troublesome to understand.[2] Gargilius Martialis has the comparative anxius.[3][7]

The word stayed in use in medieval Latin: Peter of Blois and Gerald of Wales use it of anxious brooding,[9] and Hungarian charters of 1361 and 1483 of eager watching and waiting.[10]

Timeline

  • 86–34 BC – Sallust uses it of bearing a loss with chagrin.[2][6]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca the Younger uses it of anxious self-presentation.[7][6]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of anxious inquiry into omens.[2][11][6]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it of an obscurity that is not troublesome.[2][6]
  • 1361 – A Hungarian charter uses it of keeping anxious watch over churches.[10]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Anxiously, over-carefully, meticulously.[2][8]
  2. With distress or chagrin.[2][7]
  3. Troublesomely.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  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 c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
  11. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften