Etymologically
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ceterus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈkeː.tɛ.rʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈt͡ʃɛː.te.rus][1]

Forms

cēterus (feminine cētera, neuter cēterum); first/second-declension adjective[1] It is also spelled caeterus.[2][3] The masculine nominative singular is not in use, and the singular is rare;[3] Cicero has it perhaps three times.[3]

Etymology

De Vaan explains it as a compound of the particle -ce “here”, prefixed as in cedo “give here”, and Proto-Italic *etero- (“other”).[4][2][1] The latter is a PIE adjective of comparison Proto-Indo-European *h₁e-tero- (“the other (of two)”), formed from the pronoun ⟨*h₁e-⟩ “this”.[4]

Compare Umbrian etru (“other, second”), Avestan atāra- (“this one (of two)”) and Albanian jetër (“other”).[4] Köbler compares Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros, “other”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus on:[4][5] ubi convīvae cēterī? “where are the other guests?”[2]

Semantic evolution

Cēterus means “the rest of, the other”, mostly in the plural (cēterī “the others”), and in the singular with collective nouns (pecus cēterum “the rest of the flock”).[2][3] The neuter plural cētera is “everything else”, also used as an adverb, “in other respects”.[2]

The neuter singular cēterum is “the rest”, and is common as an adverb;[2] dē cēterō means “for the rest” and also “for the future”.[2] Familiar phrases are et cētera “and the rest” and cēterīs paribus “other things being equal”.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – First found in Plautus: vōs cēterī īte hūc ad nōs, “the rest of you, come here to us”.[2][4][5]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato: nē commisceās cum cēterō vīnō, “do not mix it with the rest of the wine”.[2][5]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence: intus cētera, “the rest inside”.[2][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. The rest of, the remaining, the other.[2][3][1][6]

Pronoun

  1. (plural) The others, the rest;[2] cētera, everything else.[2]
  2. (neuter singular) The rest;[2] dē cēterō, for the rest; for the future.[2]
  3. (neuter plural as adverb) In other respects.[2]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson