eluceo

Forms

ēlūceō (present infinitive ēlūcēre, perfect active ēlūxī); second conjugation, no passive, no supine stem^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ex- + lūceō (“to shine”).^[2][1][3] De Vaan lists lūceō under lūx and traces the stative verb to Proto-Italic *l(o)ukē- (“to be light”) and Proto-Indo-European *luk-eh₁- (“to be light”), comparing Sanskrit रोचते (rócate, “shines”) and Ancient Greek λευκός (leukós, “clear, light”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first quotation in the OLD is in Cicero's Republic: a circle shining out among the flames with the brightest whiteness.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

It is to shine out or forth: Virgil has bees glittering with gold.^[6] Lewis & Short find it classical and especially frequent in Cicero in figurative senses.^[6] A quality shows itself, as honour in a deed; a person stands out from the rest, as one who studies eloquence to shine in the forum; and a fact becomes clear to the mind.^[2] Church Latin glosses it to shine forth, stand out clearly, be apparent.^[7]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero of a shining circle and of qualities that stand out.^[2][5]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil of glittering bees.^[6][5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To shine out or forth, glitter.^[2][6][1][7]
2. Of a quality, to show itself; of a person, to stand out, be conspicuous.^[2][1]
3. Of a fact, to be or become clear, be apparent.^[2][1][7]

Related words

• allūceō
• circumlūceō
• collūceō
• dīlūceō
• illūceō
• interlūceō
• lūceō
• pellūceō
• perlūceō
• praelūceō

References

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