canor

Forms

canor m (genitive canōris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin canō (“to sing”) + -or.^[2][1] De Vaan traces ⟨canō⟩ to Proto-Italic *kan-e-, from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂n-e- (“to sing”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest source is Lucretius, cycnī canor “the song of the swan”.^[4][5] Köbler dates Lucretius 96–55 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Poetic or post-Augustan and rare, it meant tune, sound, song, melody, vocal music, as in Lucretius and Ovid, and a poetic strain, as in Petronius and Quintilian.^[2][6][5]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant song.^[7] British Medieval Latin used it for song, music, worship.^[8] De Vaan notes that the adjective canōrus is derived from it.^[3]

Timeline

• 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it.^[5][4]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of song.^[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. Tune, song, melody.^[2][6]
2. A poetic strain.^[2]

Word family

• canōrus

Related words

• canō
• cantus

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
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