atomus
Pronunciation
Forms
atomus f (genitive atomī); second declension; also atomos[2][3] · adjective atomus (feminine atoma, neuter atomum)[2][1] Lucilius has the accusative plural atomūs.[2][4] A neuter atomum “moment” appears in Tertullian;[5][6] medieval texts also treat the noun as masculine and spell it athomus.[7][8]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἄτομος (átomos, “uncut, indivisible”),[2][3][1] from ἀ- (a-, “not”) and τέμνω (témnō, “to cut”),[9][8] which Etymonline traces to Proto-Indo-European *tem- (“to cut”).[9] Albert the Great already explained it this way, as the Greek for “indivisible”.[7]
Earliest recorded meaning
The first trace is the accusative plural atomūs in Lucilius (c. 180–102 BC);[2][8] Cicero (81–43 BC) uses the noun in the De finibus and the Tusculan Disputations.[2][6][8]
Semantic evolution
The noun is far more frequent than the adjective.[3] It was the atom of Democritus and Epicurus, which Vitruvius says Latin writers rendered as “uncuttable bodies” or individua;[10] Lactantius explains, after Leucippus, that the first particles are so small that no blade can cut them.[10] Pliny the Elder uses the adjective of frankincense in drops.[3][4] A neuter atomum meant an instant: Tertullian has in atomō “in a moment”,[5][6] and Jerome uses it of time;[4] Italian attimo “instant” comes from this use.[10]
Medieval Latin used it also for a mote in a sunbeam, a midge, a trifle,[7][11] and, beginning with Bede, for the smallest division of time.[8][9] English took it in the late 15th century as atom.[9]
Timeline
- c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius uses the plural atomūs.[2][8]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses the noun in his philosophical works.[2][6][8]
- 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses the adjective of frankincense.[3][8]
- c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian has in atomō “in an instant”.[5][6][8]
- first third of the 8th century AD – Bede uses it for the smallest unit of time.[8]
- late 15th century – Borrowed into English as atom.[9]
Meanings
Noun
- (philosophy) An atom, a particle of matter that cannot be divided further.[2][3][1]
- (Late Latin) An instant, moment.[5][6][4][1]
- (Medieval Latin) The smallest division of time.[8][9]
- (Medieval Latin) A mote, speck; a midge; a trifle.[7][11]
Adjective
Word family
- atomicus
Related words
- individuus
- English atom
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
- ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
- ^ a b c d e f Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ 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