delicia

Forms

dēlicia f (genitive dēliciae); first declension^[1] It is mostly used in the plural, dēliciae.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from dē- and laciō (“to entice, draw”) with -ia.^[2][4] De Vaan traces ⟨laciō⟩, known only in compounds and a gloss, to Proto-Italic *lak-i- (“to draw, pull”); he doubts the link with laqueus (“noose”), since ⟨*kʷi⟩ would rather have given ⟨qui⟩.^[5] Wiktionary reports the alternative that it belongs with liqueō (“to be liquid”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus, Rudens: tum tibi operam lūdō et dēliciae dabō, “then I'll give my time to play and pleasure with you”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

It is a delight or pleasure, and dēliciās facere is to enjoy oneself, often of love, as in Catullus.^[2] The plural is things that give pleasure, luxuries and toys (Lucilius), ornaments, delicacies, and a person's charms.^[2] Plautus already uses it of a sweetheart, and Catullus of his girl's sparrow, dēliciae meae puellae, in dēliciīs habēre is to treat as a favourite, in dēliciīs esse to be one.^[2] It is also comfort and luxury, and the self-indulgence of a city given over to pleasures (Seneca).^[2]

Church Latin glosses it “delight”.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of pleasure and of a sweetheart.^[2][4]
• c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius of luxuries.^[2][4]
• 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus of a pet sparrow.^[2][4]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca of self-indulgence.^[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A delight, pleasure, dēliciās facere, to enjoy oneself.^[2][1][3]
2. (plural) Luxuries, toys; ornaments, delicacies; charms.^[2]
3. A sweetheart, favourite, pet, in dēliciīs habēre, to treat as a favourite.^[2]
4. Comfort, luxury; self-indulgence.^[2]

Word family

• dēlicātus
• dēliciolae
• dēliciolum
• dēliciōsus
• dēlicium

Related words

• ēliciō
• illiciō
• lacessō

Usage notes

A separate dēlicia (also dēliquia) is a corner beam sloping down from the ridge of a roof in Vitruvius and Festus, from liqueō, since rain runs off it.^[2][6][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e 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 Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
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. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften