crudus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈkruː.dʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkruː.dus]^[1]

Forms

crūdus (feminine crūda, neuter crūdum, comparative crūdior, superlative crūdissimus); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from the root Proto-Indo-European *krewh₂- (“raw flesh, blood”), the root of cruor “blood”, but its formation is disputed.^[1][2][3] De Vaan considers Proto-Italic *krowoþo-, from *kreuh₂-odʰ-o-, and mentions the alternative *kruh₂-ro- with an unusual change of ⟨r⟩ to ⟨d⟩, as in Avestan xrūra (“bloody”).^[4] Cognate with Middle Irish crúaid (“hard, harsh”) and Old English hrēaw (English raw).^[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,^[4][5] who has a cook complaining of people who serve raw vegetables.^[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant raw or uncooked, of food and of entrails offered without fire, and then untreated or crude, as of unbaked bricks.^[2][6] Of food in the stomach it meant undigested, of wounds raw or bleeding, and of fruit unripe.^[2] Virgil's crūda senectūs was a vigorous old age.^[2] Of people it meant fierce or savage, and of pain or punishment bitter.^[2]

Its derivative crūdēlis “cruel” gave English cruel, and crūditās meant indigestion.^[1][7] English crude is from crūdus itself, first of coarse bread and untanned hide.^[7] It survives in Italian crudo and French cru.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of raw vegetables.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero says unripe apples can hardly be pulled from the tree.^[2][5]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil speaks of a green old age.^[2][5]
• late 14th century – English crude is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. raw, uncooked.^[2]
2. Untreated, rough, crude.^[2]
3. Undigested.^[2]
4. (of wounds) Raw, bleeding.^[2]
5. Unripe, green.^[2]
6. (of old age) Vigorous, hardy.^[2]
7. Fierce, savage, (of pain) bitter.^[2]

Word family

• crūdārius
• crūdēlis
• crūdēscō
• crūditās
• percrūdus
• sēmicrūdus
• subcrūdus

Related words

• crūdēlē
• crūdēlitas
• crūdēliter
• crūditātiō
• crūditō
• cruentus
• cruor
• English crude
• English cruel

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 Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c 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. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com