diu

Forms

diū (comparative diūtius, superlative diūtissimē)^[1] The second syllable is usually long, except in early drama.^[2] An old form diūs appears in an inscription and in Plautus' noctū neque diūs.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is the old locative of the word for “day”, inherited from Proto-Italic *djowe (“by day”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *dyéwi (“during the day”), the locative of *dyḗws (“sky, day”).^[4][1][2] De Vaan explains ⟨diū⟩ from ⟨*diyeu⟩, with ⟨diu⟩ by iambic shortening.^[4] The sense “by day” is the original one, and “for a long time” probably developed from it.^[2]

Compare Sanskrit दिवा (dívā, “by day”), Old Armenian տիւ (tiw, “day”) and Old Irish in-diu (“today”).^[1][2] It is related to diēs “day” and Iuppiter.^[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Naevius on;^[4] Plautus has ubi diū āfuerīs domō, “when you have been away from home a long time”.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Diū means “for a long time, long” (haud diū est “it is not long”), and in the comparative diūtius “longer, any longer”.^[2][1] It also means “protractedly” and, in descriptions of places, “for a long stretch”.^[2] The old sense “by day” survives with noctū (noctū diūque “by night and by day”) and in interdiū.^[2][3][1]

Timeline

• c. 235–200 BC – First found in Naevius.^[4]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a long absence.^[2][5]
• 190–159 BC – Terence: haud diūst, “it is not long”.^[2][5]

Meanings

Adverb

1. For a long time, long.^[2][3][1][6]
2. (comparative diūtius) Longer, any longer.^[2][1]
3. Protractedly.^[2]
4. (with noctū) By day.^[2][1][6]

Word family

• diū̆tinus
• interdiū
• perdiū
• aliquamdiū
• iamdiū
• quamdiū
• diūsculē
• diūtulē
• diū̆turnus
• diurnus
• dūdum
• subdiū

Related words

• diēs
• deus
• Iūpiter
• noctū

Usage notes

Döderlein says that diū and dūdum express a space of time, “long since”, against prīdem, a point of time long before;^[7] diū refers to days, months or years, dūdum to minutes or hours.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper