bellus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈbɛl.lʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈbɛl.lus]^[1]

Forms

bellus (feminine bella, neuter bellum, adverb bellē); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Old Latin *duenelos, a diminutive of duenos, the old form of bonus “good”, through *duenlos and *duellos.^[2][1] De Vaan reconstructs bonus as Proto-Italic *dweno- (“good”), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *duh₂-eno-.^[2] Lewis and Short and Gaffiot give the same derivation, as if from *benulus.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives Plautus first.^[5] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5] Plautus asks whether a woman seems pretty, and has a man boast that he was once handsome.^[6]

Semantic evolution

De Vaan explains that because it was a diminutive it was first used of women and children, and of men only ironically.^[2] Varro's bellior still means “better”.^[2] It meant pretty, handsome or charming, often ironically fine or smart, and of speech or writing nice and witty; of things it meant nice or excellent.^[6] Lewis and Short note that it is most frequent before Cicero and in the poets, and in Cicero mostly in his letters.^[3]

It survives in Italian bello, French beau and Catalan bell.^[1] A Vulgar Latin *bellitātem gave Old French biauté and English beauty in the early 14th century, and French beau and belle were taken into English in the 18th and 17th centuries.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a pretty woman.^[6][5]
• 116–27 BC – Varro uses bellior in the sense “better”.^[2][5]
• early 14th century – English beauty is recorded.^[7]
• 1620s – English belle is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. pretty, handsome, charming.^[6]
2. (often ironic) Fine, smart, admirable.^[6]
3. (of speech) Nice, witty.^[6]
4. (of things) Nice, excellent; pleasant.^[6][1]

Word family

• belliātus
• bellitūdō
• bellulus

Related words

• bonus
• bene
• English beauty
• English belle
• English beau

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com