Etymologically
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ardenter

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Forms

ārdenter (comparative ārdentius, superlative ārdentissimē)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ārdēns (“burning”) + -ter.[2][1] De Vaan derives the verb ārdeō (“to burn”) from āridus (“dry”), and that adjective from āreō (“to be dry”), which he traces to Proto-Italic *ās-ē- (“to be dry”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₁s-eh₁- (“to be dry”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it first in Cicero,[4] who in the Tusculan Disputations uses the comparative of thirsting all the more burningly for pleasures the more abundantly one drinks them in.[2]

Semantic evolution

Cicero uses it of desire, quod cupias ardenter, “what you desire passionately”, and of zeal, asking who could urge people to virtue more ardently.[2] Pliny the Younger and Suetonius have it of loving ardently,[2][5] and Frontinus and Apuleius of eager effort.[2] The sense “with burning effect” occurs only in that figurative passage.[2] British Medieval Latin keeps the sense “ardently”, as when Eriugena writes that truth is loved the more ardently the more it is sought.[6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, “passionately” and “eagerly”.[2][4]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius, of loving ardently.[2][4]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius, of zealous effort.[2][4]
  • Medieval Latin – still “ardently” in British writers.[6]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. With burning or parching effect (figuratively).[2]
  2. Passionately, ardently.[2][7][1]
  3. With enthusiasm, eagerly, zealously.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b 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
  7. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press