Etymologically
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bibulus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈbɪ.bʊ.ɫʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈbiː.bu.lus][1]

Forms

bibulus (feminine bibula, neuter bibulum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin bibō (“to drink”) + -ulus.[2][1] De Vaan traces bibō to Proto-Italic *pibe/o- and Proto-Indo-European *pi-ph₃-e/o- (“to drink”), a reduplicated present; the initial ⟨b-⟩ is due to assimilation to the ⟨-b-⟩ inside the word.[3] Cognate with Sanskrit पिबति (píbati, “to drink”) and Old Irish ibid (“to drink”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Lucretius,[3] whose sea feeds the thirsty sand, bibulam pavit aequor harenam.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Of things it means absorbent or porous, the more frequent use according to Lewis & Short,[4] and in poetry also soaked or sprinkled with moisture, as a couch sprinkled with wine in the Copa.[2] Of people it is fond of drinking: Horace has a man who drinks Falernian from midday.[2][4] Persius speaks of ears thirsty to hear.[2] As a cognomen it belonged to Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus, Caesar's fellow consul in 59 BC.[2][4] English bibulous meant “spongy, absorbent” in the 1670s and “fond of drink” by 1861.[5]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius, of sand that drinks up the sea.[2][3][6]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace, of a man fond of Falernian wine.[2][6]
  • 34–62 AD – Persius, of ears eager to listen.[2][6]
  • 1670s – English bibulous, “absorbent”.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Fond of drinking, drinking readily.[2][4][1]
  2. Of ears, eager to hear.[2][1]
  3. Of things, absorbent, porous, spongy.[2][4][1]
  4. (poetic) Soaked or sprinkled with moisture; of clouds, charged with rain.[2]
  5. As a cognomen, Bibulus.[2][4]
  • bibāx
  • bibilis
  • bibiō
  • bibitor
  • bibō
  • bibōnius
  • bibōsus
  • ēbibō
  • English bibulous

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de