Etymologically
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apud

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈa.pʊd][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈaː.pud][1]

Forms

apud (+ accusative)[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.[2] It is never used in compounds or as an adverb, which may point to a recent origin from a noun phrase.[2] The OLD and de Vaan consider a link with apiō (“to tie”), perhaps an old perfect participle ⟨*ap-wot⟩ “having reached”, hence “closely joined”; de Vaan also mentions ⟨*ad-pod⟩, from ad and the word for “foot”.[3][2][1] The Marsian inscription ⟨apur finem⟩ of the 4th century BC and the form ⟨apor⟩ in Festus show a variant with /r/.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Livius Andronicus on;[2][4] a Marsian inscription of the 4th century BC has apur finem “at the boundary”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Apud means “at, near, beside” (of places), “in” (a building or town), and above all “at the house of, with” a person (French chez), at the court of a king or the headquarters of a general.[3][1] It also means “in the country of, among”, “before, in the presence of”, and “in the writings of” (apud Ennium).[3][1]

The spelling aput is also found from about 45 BC.[5] Medieval Latin used it for “with, together with” and “by means of”.[6]

Timeline

  • 4th century BC – apur finem in a Marsian inscription.[2][3]
  • c. 280–200 BC – First found in Livius Andronicus.[2][4]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: argentum sūmpsisse apud Thēbās ab dānīstā, “to have borrowed money from a moneylender at Thebes”.[3][4]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro cites a word he found apud Callimachum, in Callimachus.[3][4]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. (with accusative) At, near, by, beside.[3][1]
  2. At the house of, with; at the court or headquarters of.[3][1]
  3. In the country of, among.[3]
  4. Before, in the presence of.[1][5]
  5. In the writings of.[3][1]
  6. (Medieval Latin) With, together with; by means of.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill