corusco

Forms

coruscō (present infinitive coruscāre, perfect active coruscāvī, supine coruscātum); first conjugation, no passive^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin coruscus (“quivering, flashing”) + -ō.^[2][1] De Vaan finds the origin of coruscus unclear: Walde and Hofmann's link with ⟨*(s)ker-⟩ “to jump”, as in Ancient Greek σκαίρω (skaírō, “to skip, dance”), seems to him a long shot, and a connection with queror (“to lament”) is possible but unclear in its details.^[3][4] The TLL calls it of uncertain origin, unless it was adapted from Ancient Greek κορύσσω (korússō) or Ancient Greek κορύπτω (korúptō, “to butt”).^[5][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pacuvius has it in a tragedy: a flame flashes among the clouds.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to move something quickly to and fro, to shake or brandish, as Virgil has of a burning brand brandished and thrown.^[2] Intransitively it is to quiver or make quick movements: Lucretius' well-fed lambs play and butt gently, which Lewis & Short take as pushing with the horns.^[2][6] Its commonest use is to flash, glitter or gleam, of lightning, flames and weapons,^[2][1] and Wiktionary notes a rare impersonal use for lightning flashing.^[1] Döderlein groups it with verbs of brightness.^[7] Stelten gives “shine, glitter”.^[8] English coruscate comes from its past participle in 1705.^[4]

Timeline

• 220–130 BC – Pacuvius, of a flame flashing in the clouds.^[2][9]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius, of lambs at play.^[2][6][9]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil, of brandishing a torch.^[2][9]
• 1705 – English coruscate.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To shake, brandish, wave.^[2][1]
2. (intransitive) To quiver, move to and fro; to butt (of lambs).^[2][6][1]
3. (intransitive) To flash, glitter, gleam, coruscate.^[2][1][8]

Word family

• coruscāmen
• coruscātiō

Related words

• coruscus
• English coruscate

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ 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 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de