corvus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈkɔr.wʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkɔr.vus]^[1]

Forms

corvus m (genitive corvī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *korwo-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ḱor(h₂)-uo- (“crow, raven”).^[2][1] Words for crow and raven with *kr- are found across Indo-European, so de Vaan considers the root imitative.^[2][3] It is related to cornīx “crow” and Ancient Greek κόραξ (kórax, “raven”).^[3][4] Isidore says it is named from the sound of its throat.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus.^[2][6] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It was the raven, a bird of augury, and Ovid tells that it was once white and was turned black as a punishment.^[3][7] In cruce corvōs pāscere “to feed the ravens on the cross” was said of crucified slaves.^[8] It was also the constellation Raven, corvus aquāticus the cormorant, a sea fish, and a military grapnel or hook, such as the boarding bridge of the Roman fleet.^[3] Corvus was the cognomen of M. Valerius.^[3]

In medieval British Latin it was the raven, crow or rook, a figure of evil, and albus corvus “a white raven” stood for a rarity.^[9] Its diminutive gave Old French corbel, the source of English corbel, a beam projecting like a beak.^[10] It survives in Italian corvo, French corbeau and Spanish cuervo.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[2][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the constellation.^[3][6]
• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius describes the corvus as a siege engine.^[3][6]
• mid-14th century – English corbel is recorded.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A raven.^[3]
2. The constellation Corvus.^[3]
3. corvus aquāticus, the cormorant.^[3]
4. A sea fish.^[3]
5. A grapnel; a siege engine.^[3]

Word family

• corvīnus

Related words

• cornīx
• crōciō
• English corbel

References

1. ^ a b c d e 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 d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com