Etymologically
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consobrinus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kõː.sɔˈbriː.nʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [kon.soˈbriː.nus][1]

Forms

cōnsobrīnus m (genitive cōnsobrīnī, feminine cōnsobrīna); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from con- “together” and sobrīnus “second cousin”, which is from soror “sister”.[2][1][3][4] Donatus explains it as if ⟨consororīnus⟩.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Terence, whom he dates 190–159 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It properly meant the son of one's mother's sister, as in Cicero, and generally a first cousin, the child of a brother or sister, as Gaius and Paulus define it in the Digest.[2][3][7] In Suetonius it meant a cousin in general.[7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a cousin.[8] Medieval Latin used it for a cousin on the father's side and for a nephew, a sister's son.[9] It survives in Italian consobrino, and Old French cosin gave English cousin in the early 13th century.[1][4]

Timeline

  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it.[6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a cousin on the mother's side.[7][6]
  • 533 AD – The Digest defines it.[3][6]
  • early 13th century – English cousin is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The son of one's mother's sister; a first cousin.[2]
  2. (Medieval Latin) A nephew.[9]

Word family

  • cōnsobrīna

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill