aurum

Forms

aurum n (genitive aurī); second declension^[1] A rustic form ōrum is recorded by Festus.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *auzom (“gold”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwsom or a reduplicated ⟨*h₂é-h₂us-om⟩ “the glowing one”, from the root *h₂ews- (“to dawn, glow”), as in aurōra “dawn”.^[3][1][4][5] The Sabine form ⟨ausum⟩ keeps the old ⟨s⟩, which became ⟨r⟩ in Latin.^[3][2]

Cognate with Old Prussian ausis (“gold”) and Lithuanian áuksas (“gold”).^[3][4] Tocharian A wäs (“gold”) and Tocharian B yasa (“gold”) have been explained as borrowings from Uralic.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from the Twelve Tables on.^[3][5] Ennius has ferrō, nōn aurō, vītam cernāmus utrīque, “let us both decide for our lives with iron, not with gold”.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Aurum is gold as a metal, and gold as wealth, treasure, money.^[4][1] It is used for gilding and ornament and for things made of gold: rings, cups, a crown; in myth it is the Golden Fleece and the golden rain of Danaë.^[4][1] It also means the colour or brightness of gold, and in poetry the Golden Age.^[4][1]

The popular form ōrum lies behind Italian oro, Spanish oro and French or.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 450 BC – Used in the Twelve Tables.^[3][5]
• 204–169 BC – Ennius: ferrō, nōn aurō.^[4][5]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: aurum turpī mulierī, gold for an ugly woman.^[4][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero hears that there is neither gold nor silver in Britain.^[4][5]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of the Golden Fleece.^[4][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. gold (the metal).^[4][2][1][6]
2. Gold as wealth; treasure, money.^[4]
3. Gold used for ornament, gilding.^[4]
4. Something made of gold: a ring, cup, crown.^[4][1]
5. The Golden Fleece;^[4] the golden rain of Danaë.^[4]
6. The colour or brightness of gold.^[4][1]
7. (poetic) The Golden Age.^[1]

Word family

• aurārius
• aureus
• aurifodīna
• auricoctor
• auricolor
• auricomāns
• auricomus
• aurifer
• aurifex
• aurifluus

Related words

• aurāria
• aurāta
• aurātilis
• aurātūra
• aurātus
• aureātus
• aureolus
• aurōra
• argentum

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f 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 e f g h i j k l m n o p q Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson