arcus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈar.kʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈar.kus]^[1]

Forms

arcus m (genitive arcūs); fourth declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *arkuos (“bow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂erkʷos (“bow, arrow”).^[1][2] Cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐌷𐌰𐌶𐌽𐌰 (arhazna, “arrow”) and Old English earh (“arrow”), whence English arrow.^[3][1][2] The DÉRom reconstructs Proto-Romance ⟨*/ˈark-u/⟩, continued in all Romance branches but Vegliote and Ladin.^[4] It is also spelled ⟨arquus⟩, Ennius and Vitruvius treat it as feminine, and second-declension forms are found.^[3][5] Isidore says arches are named because they are bent in a tight closure.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Ennius, of a bow, and Plautus, of a rainbow.^[3] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.^[7]

Semantic evolution

It meant a bow for arrows, as in Ennius and Cicero, and in Cicero the bow of Sagittarius.^[3][8] From Plautus it meant a rainbow, and in Livy a halo round the sun.^[3] From Varro it meant an arch, vault, and in Tacitus a triumphal arch.^[3][8] It meant anything curved, as arching boughs in Vitruvius, a bend in Virgil, and in Columella the arc of a circle, and in Ovid one of the five zones of the sky.^[3]

Medieval Latin used the plural for an arcade.^[9] British Medieval Latin distinguished stone-bows and crossbows.^[10] It survives in Italian and Spanish arco and French arc, and Old French gave English arc in the late 14th century and, from Old French arche, English arch about 1300.^[1][2]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of a bow.^[3][7]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a rainbow.^[3][7]
• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of an arch.^[3][7]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of a triumphal arch.^[3][7]
• c. 1300 – English arch is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A bow; the bow of Sagittarius.^[3]
2. A rainbow; a halo.^[3]
3. An arch, vault; a triumphal arch.^[3]
4. Anything curved; arching boughs.^[3]
5. A curve; an arc; a zone of the sky.^[3]
6. (Medieval Latin) In the plural, an arcade.^[9]

Word family

• arcifer
• arcipotens
• arcisellium
• arcitenēns
• arcuārius
• arcuatilis
• arcuātus
• arcuballista
• arculus
• arcuō

Related words

• discus
• sagitta
• English arc
• English arch
• English arrow

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ 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