difficile

Forms

difficile (comparative difficilius, superlative difficillimē)^[1]

Etymology

It is the neuter accusative from Latin difficilis (“difficult”), used as an adverb.^[1][2] difficilis is a compound of dis- and facilis (“easy”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis & Short think it perhaps not found before Augustus; their first instance is in Velleius Paterculus.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

It is a rare adverb: Lewis & Short find it in Velleius, Pliny the Elder, Suetonius, Justin, Palladius and Tertullian, while the usual form is difficulter and difficiliter is rare.^[4] The comparative difficilius and the superlative difficillimē are common, the latter already in Cicero.^[4] Köbler lists it from Celsus.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 20 BC–30 AD – Velleius Paterculus, the first instance.^[4][5][6]
• 14–37 AD – Celsus.^[6]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder.^[4][5][6]

Meanings

Adverb

1. With difficulty.^[2][4][1][5]

Related words

• difficilis
• difficulter
• facile

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de