cruente

Forms

cruentē (comparative cruentius, superlative cruentissimē)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin cruentus (“bloody”) + -ē, an adverb.^[2][1] ⟨cruentus⟩ is from cruor (“blood”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *kruwōs (“blood”), from Proto-Indo-European *kruh₂-ōs (“blood”).^[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Seneca the Elder, whom he dates c. 55 BC–40 AD.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant bloodthirstily, savagely, cruelly, as in Seneca's arma cruentius exercēre “to wage war more savagely” and Justin.^[2][5]

Timeline

• c. 55 BC–40 AD – Seneca the Elder uses it.^[4]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses cruentius.^[5][4]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Bloodthirstily, savagely, cruelly.^[2][5]

Related words

• cruentus
• cruor
• cruenter

References

1. ^ a b c 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. ^ 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.