comminus

Forms

comminus (not comparable)^[1] It is often spelled cominus in manuscripts, though inscriptions have comminus.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from con- (“with, together”) and manus (“hand”), the opposite of ēminus (“at a distance”).^[2][3][1] De Vaan derives ⟨manus⟩ from Proto-Italic *manu- (“hand”) and Proto-Indo-European *mon-u- (“hand”), cognate with Oscan manim (“hand”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ennius is its first author,^[5] with quae mea comminus māchaera atque hasta hostībit manū, of the sword and spear that will strike at close quarters.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It belonged first to the language of war, “at close quarters, hand to hand”, as in Cicero and Caesar, and Virgil uses it of hunters killing deer with the sword.^[2][6] It is also “close at hand, near”, as Lucretius' sun that seems to touch the mountains close by, and in law “in each other's presence”.^[2][1]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius of fighting hand to hand.^[2][5]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius for “close at hand”.^[2][5]
• c. 50 BC – Caesar of close fighting.^[2][5]

Meanings

Adverb

1. At close quarters, hand-to-hand.^[2][6][1]
2. Close at hand, near; in each other's presence.^[2][1]

Related words

• manus
• ēminus
• prope

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press