attat

Forms

attat (interjection)^[2] It is also spelled atat, and longer forms such as attatae occur.^[3]

Etymology

The OLD takes it as a shortened form of the interjection attatae,^[2] and Lewis & Short equate it with Ancient Greek ἀτταταί (attataí).^[3] Wiktionary calls it onomatopoeic, of Mediterranean origin.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler finds it first in Plautus,^[4] who in the Aulularia has attat, periī hercle ego miser, “oh no, I'm done for, poor me!”.^[2][3] Naevius already has the longer forms ⟨attatae⟩ and ⟨atattatattatae⟩.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It expresses sudden realisation or surprise, and also fear or a warning: Terence has it too, and Cato in a speech: “stop, stop writing that, I tell you”.^[2] Lewis & Short list it for joy, pain, wonder, fright and warning, often repeated.^[3] The TLL notes that the oldest manuscripts of Plautus and Terence write a double ⟨t⟩.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus, of sudden fright.^[2][3][4]
• 190–159 BC – Terence, in a moment of fright.^[2][4]
• 234–149 BC – Cato, as a warning in a speech.^[2][4]

Meanings

Interjection

1. Expressing sudden realisation or surprise: ah!, aha!^[2][1]
2. Expressing fear or a warning: oh no!, look out!^[2][3][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften