diluvies

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [diːˈɫʊ.wi.eːs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [diˈluː.vi.es]^[1]

Forms

dīluviēs f (genitive dīluviēī); fifth declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dīluō (“to wash away”) + -iēs, from dis- and luō; compare illuviēs.^[2][3][1] De Vaan traces ⟨luō⟩ “to loosen” to Proto-Italic *luwe/o-, Proto-Indo-European *lewH- (“to cut loose”), cognate with Ancient Greek λύω (lúō, “to loosen”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Lucretius, and Gaffiot cites him twice.^[5][6] Köbler dates Lucretius 96–55 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short take it as literally a washing away of the earth; in use it meant a flood, inundation, deluge, as in Lucretius, Horace and Pliny.^[7][2][6]

Timeline

• 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it.^[6][5]
• 65–8 BC – Horace uses it.^[6][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A flood, inundation, deluge.^[2][6]

Related words

• dīluō
• dīluvium
• luō
• illuviēs

Usage notes

Lewis & Short give the by-forms dīluvium and dīluviō.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press