Etymologically
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cernuus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkɛr.nu.ʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈt͡ʃɛr.nu.us][1]

Forms

cernuus (feminine cernua, neuter cernuum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kēro-nowo-, explained by Nussbaum as Proto-Indo-European *ḱērh₂o-nowo- (“inclining the head”), with a first part Proto-Indo-European *ḱērh₂-o- (“head”), the same as Avestan sāra- (“head”).[2][1] It is related to cerebrum “brain”.[2][3][4] Nonius explained it as one who looks at the ground, as though from cernō.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Lucilius.[2][6] Köbler dates Lucilius c. 180–102 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant head foremost, falling or bending forward, as Virgil's horse that falls headlong on its rider.[3][4] Lewis and Short call it rare and poetic.[5] As a noun it was used by Lucilius of a tumbler or acrobat, and Festus and Isidore of Seville record a kind of shoe of that name.[4][5] Its derivative cernuāre meant “to fall head first”.[2]

In Medieval Latin it meant prone, bent forward in prayer, and also of a low voice.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius uses it of a tumbler.[4][6]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of a falling horse.[4][6]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville records it as a kind of shoe.[5][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Headlong, head foremost, bending forward.[3][4]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Prone, bowed, (of the voice) low.[7]

Noun

  1. A tumbler, acrobat.[4]
  2. A kind of shoe.[5]

Word family

  • cernuō

References

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