Etymologically
Log in

audax

This is an old revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 20:56. It may differ significantly from the current version. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Current version Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈau̯.daːks][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈaːu̯.daks][1]

Forms

audāx (genitive audācis, comparative audācior, superlative audācissimus, adverb audāciter or audācter); third-declension one-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin audeō (“to dare”) + -āx.[2][3][1] De Vaan derives audeō from avidus (“greedy, eager”): it first meant “to want very much”, as in Plautus' ⟨sōdēs⟩ “please”, from ⟨*sī audēs⟩ “if you really want”, and only later “to dare”.[4] He traces the root, that of aveō (“to long for”), to Proto-Italic *awē- (“to be eager”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₂eu-eh₁- (“to enjoy, consume”).[4] Wiktionary compares South Picene 𐌀𐌞𐌃𐌀𐌒𐌖𐌌 (aúdaqum).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and the TLL date it from Naevius.[4][3] Plautus has quae nōn dēlīquit, decet audācem esse, “a woman who has done no wrong should be bold”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Audāx is “daring, bold, confident” in a good sense (Ennius: Hannibal audācī cum pectore, Virgil: audācibus adnue coeptīs, “favour my bold undertaking”), and in a bad one “audacious, reckless, rash” (Terence: ō scelestum atque audācem hominem!, Cicero: homō audācissimus Catilīna).[2][5][1] It also means “impudent, pert” (Plautus), of style “bold, daring” (Cicero of metaphors), and of a headland “standing out boldly” (Lucan).[2] Martial calls cheap glassware audāx, since it need not be handled with care.[2]

English audacious comes, through French, from the noun audācia in the 1540s.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.[4][3][7]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: decet audācem esse.[2][7]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius: audācī cum pectore.[2][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero: homō audācissimus Catilīna.[2][7]
  • 1540s – English audacious.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. bold, daring, confident.[2][5][1]
  2. audacious, reckless, rash; impudent.[2][5][1]
  3. Bold (of style or expression).[2]
  4. Standing out boldly (of a headland).[2]

Word family

  • audācia
  • audaculus
  • inaudax
  • audāciter
  • audācter

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de