Etymologically
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cunctus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkuːŋk.tʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkuŋk.tus][1]

Forms

cūnctus (feminine cūncta, neuter cūnctum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.[1][2] The traditional derivation, accepted with some reservations by de Vaan, is from Proto-Italic *kom-kitos (“called together”), the participle of concieō, with the middle syllable lost.[3][1] De Vaan suggests the loss happened in the frequent plural cūnctī.[3] Ernout and Meillet reject this, and Lewis & Short derive it from coniūnctus “joined”.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from the Carmen Arvale, which has the old form conctos, and Plautus uses it.[3][2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

In the singular it meant the whole of something, as cūncta cīvitās “the whole state” and cūnctus senātus “the entire senate” in Cicero.[2][6] In the plural it meant all, all together, and also all the rest.[2] The neuter plural cūncta was “everything”.[6]

Medieval writers used it for “all”.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of the whole senate.[6][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (singular) The whole of, all, entire.[2]
  2. (plural) All, all together.[2]

Word family

  • cunctalis
  • cuncticinus
  • cunctim
  • cunctiparens
  • cū̆nctipotēns
  • concieō

Usage notes

Döderlein groups omnēs, ūniversī and cūnctī as a totality taken together, against quisque, quīvīs and quīlibet, which split it into individuals.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper