Etymologically
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bellus

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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

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