Etymologically
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eheu

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈeː.(ɦ)ɛu̯], [ˈe.(ɦ)ɛu̯][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈɛː.eu̯][1]

Forms

ēheu (interjection; the first syllable is usually long, short in some lines of Plautus and Terence)[2]

Etymology

It is an expressive cry, related to heu (“alas”).[2][1] Wiktionary compares Sanskrit अहो (aho), a comparison that once led scholars to assume an Indo-European origin.[1] Köbler refers it to Pokorny's interjection Proto-Indo-European *eheu.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus uses it often, in the Captivi, the Trinummus and the Miles Gloriosus, and Terence follows him.[4][3]

Semantic evolution

It expresses pain or grief, "alas!".[2][4] It is often followed by ⟨quam⟩: in Terence a young man cries how much he now dislikes himself, and Horace uses the same turn.[4] Lewis & Short note that the epic and lyric poets always scan it with a long first syllable, and that some editors print a doubled heu there instead.[4] Church Latin glosses it ah.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[4][3]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence, often with quam.[4][3]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace uses it.[4][3]

Meanings

Interjection

  1. An exclamation of grief or pain: alas!, ah![2][4][1]
  • heu
  • English alas

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson