dunc

Forms

dunc (not comparable)^[1]

Etymology

It is probably a blend, from Latin dum (“while”) + tunc (“then”), helped by the likeness of the first word to tum, a synonym of the second.^[1] Conte instead analyses it as ⟨dum⟩ with -que.^[2] Georges treats it as a popular equivalent of dōnec or ⟨dum⟩,^[3] and the TLL files its examples partly under ⟨dum⟩ and partly under ⟨tunc⟩.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is known only from inscriptions of the imperial period, six of them by Georges' count,^[3][1] where it means “while” or “when”.^[5][3]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it was used as “then”,^[1] and in that sense it passed into the Romance languages: Italian dunque, Old French dunc (French donc), Catalan doncs and Sardinian duncas all continue it.^[1][2]

Timeline

• imperial period – Inscriptions use it for “while” or “then”.^[3][5][1]

Meanings

Adverb

1. while, as long as; when.^[5][3]
2. (Late Latin) then.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de