Etymologically
Log in

difficulter

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 05:40. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [dɪf.fɪˈkʊɫ.tɛr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [dif.fiˈkul.ter][1]

Forms

difficulter (comparative difficilius, superlative difficillimē)[1]

Etymology

It is an adverb from Latin difficilis (“difficult”),[1][2] a by-form of difficiliter, which is from Latin difficilis + -ter.[3] That adjective is made from dis- and facilis (“easy”),[3] which de Vaan lists among the derivatives of faciō (“to do, make”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Georges names Varro and Caesar as its first users;[5] Köbler dates it from Caesar.[6]

Semantic evolution

It means "with difficulty".[3][1][7] Georges calls difficulter the usual form, difficiliter rare (Cicero, Vitruvius, Celsus), and difficile another one (Velleius, Celsus); all three share the comparative difficilius and the superlative difficillimē.[5][1] It also means reluctantly: Livy writes that the other states would accept the yoke without difficulty, and Seneca of someone who promised, but reluctantly, with eyebrows raised.[3]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro.[5]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar.[5][6]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of states accepting the yoke.[3]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca of a reluctant promise.[3]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. With difficulty.[3][7][1]
  2. Reluctantly.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press