Etymologically
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audenter

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Forms

audenter (comparative audentius); adverb[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin audēns + -ter,[1][3] from the present participle of audeō (“to dare”).[3] De Vaan derives that verb from avidus (“greedy”): it first meant “to want very much”, a sense still seen in Plautus' ⟨sōdēs⟩ “if you please”, and then “to dare”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it first in Quintilian,[5] who says that some words can be put in “more boldly”, audentius.[6][7] The TLL's other early examples, from Valerius Flaccus, Statius and Frontinus, are also of the comparative.[7]

Semantic evolution

In the 1st century AD it means boldly or fearlessly: Statius uses it of taunting an enemy, and Tacitus of advancing and of surrounding someone more boldly.[1][6][2] It could also be used in a bad sense, audaciously or rashly: Suetonius reports that Pliny accused Gaetulicus of lying all too boldly.[1][8]

The positive audenter is used by the jurist Ulpian and in the Vulgate's Acts of the Apostles, of speaking boldly.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses the comparative audentius.[6][5]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of advancing boldly.[6][5]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it in the sense “rashly”.[1][5]
  • before 223 AD – Ulpian uses the positive audenter dīcere.[6][5]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it in the Acts of the Apostles.[6][5]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Boldly, fearlessly.[1][2]
  2. Audaciously, presumptuously, rashly.[1][8]

Usage notes

Gaffiot notes that no superlative is recorded,[2] although Wiktionary's head gives audentissimē.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  3. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  4. ^ 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 d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  8. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier