bombus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈbɔm.bʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈbɔm.bus]^[1]

Forms

bombus m (genitive bombī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek βόμβος (bómbos, “booming, humming”), a word of onomatopoeic origin.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Ennius, whom he dates 204–169 BC, and Ennius is said to have called the sound of feet bombus pedum.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a deep sound, a rumble, booming, and of bees a buzzing, humming, as in Varro.^[2][6]

In Medieval Latin it meant a loud noise, a peal.^[7] British Medieval Latin used it for a bellow, a peal, and rumbling.^[8] Through Italian bomba and French bombe it is probably the source of English bomb (1580s).^[9]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it.^[4][5]
• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of bees.^[6][4]
• 1580s – English bomb is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A booming, rumble.^[2]
2. A buzzing, humming (of bees).^[2]

Word family

• bombilō
• bombulus

Related words

• bombiō
• bombito
• bombizō
• Bombomachidēs
• bumbum
• English bomb

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com