Etymologically
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deinceps

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [deˈɪŋ.kɛps], [ˈdɛi̯ŋ.kɛps][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [deˈin̠ʲ.t͡ʃeps], [ˈdɛi̯n̠ʲ.t͡ʃeps][1]

Forms

deinceps (not comparable)[1] It is scanned as two syllables in Lucretius and Horace,[2][3] as three in Prudentius.[3]

Etymology

It is formed from dein (“then”) and -ceps, from capiō (“to take”), like princeps and particeps.[2][3][4] The adjective, “taking place next”, came first; the TLL explains the adverb as its nominative used with adverbial force.[2][4] Festus, as reported by Lewis and Short, explains ⟨deinceps⟩ as “who took next”, as ⟨princeps⟩ is “who took first”.[3] De Vaan traces ⟨capiō⟩ to Proto-Italic *kap-i- and either Proto-Indo-European *kh₂p-i- or a non-Indo-European ⟨*kap-i-⟩ “to seize”.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Sallust;[6] the OLD quotes it from the Rhetorica ad Herennium, Cicero, Varro and Lucretius,[2] of things in unbroken succession, as Cicero's three brothers who will be tribunes one after another.[2]

Semantic evolution

The adverb is in succession or in turn, also with ordinal numbers, as Varro's “I am the seventh in succession of praetorian rank in our family”, and in space one beside or behind another, as Caesar's rafts joined one after another.[2][3] It marks the next stage of a sequence: after that in time, beyond that in space, as Sallust's “first comes Cyrene, then the two Syrtes”, and then or next in a list.[2] It also means from now on or thereafter, as Cicero's “I wish things may be better from now on”, and sīc deinceps and et deinceps are “and so on”.[2][1]

The adjective, “next following”, is rare: Festus has deincipem, and Apuleius a new ablative deincipite.[3][4] Church Latin uses the adverb for “henceforth, any longer, from now on”.[7]

Timeline

  • 1st century BC – In the Rhetorica ad Herennium, Cicero, Varro and Lucretius.[2]
  • 86–34 BC – Sallust of places beyond one another.[2][6]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar of work joined in sequence.[2][6]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius has the adjective deincipite.[3][4][6]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. In Succession, in turn, one after another.[2][3][1]
  2. After that, next; beyond that.[2]
  3. From now on, henceforth; thereafter.[2][1][7]
  4. sīc deinceps, et deinceps: and so on.[2]

Adjective

  1. Next in succession, following.[2][3][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson