dos

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈdoːs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈdɔs]^[1]

Forms

dōs f (genitive dōtis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *dōt- (“endowment”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *dē/ōh₃-t- (“gift”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *deh₃- (“to give”) of dō.^[2][1] Cognate with Ancient Greek δόσις (dósis, “giving, gift”) and Ancient Greek δώς (dṓs, “gift”).^[1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Plautus, whose character wants to marry a girl without a dowry.^[5][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant the property a bride brought to her husband, a dowry, as Plautus' virgō dōte cassa “a girl without a dowry”.^[3][6] By extension it meant any endowment, a quality or talent adorning mind or body, as Ovid's advice to please by whatever gift one has, and a virtue or advantage of a thing.^[3]

In Medieval Latin it meant a bridegroom's gift to the bride, a dower, and an endowment of a church or monastery.^[7][8] It survives in Italian and Spanish dote and French dot.^[1] English dowry and English dower come from the verb dōtāre through Old French doaire.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a dowry.^[3][5]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of personal gifts.^[3][5]
• c. 1400 – English dowry is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A dowry.^[3]
2. An endowment.^[3]
3. A gift, talent.^[3]
4. An advantage, virtue (of a thing).^[3]
5. (Medieval Latin) A dower; an endowment of a church.^[7]

Word family

• dōtālis
• dōtō

Related words

• dō
• English dowry

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com