Etymologically

equinus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ɛˈkʷiː.nʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [eˈkʷiː.nus][1]

Forms

equīnus (feminine equīna, neuter equīnum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from equus “horse” with the suffix -īnus.[2][1][3] The Thesaurus compares Old Prussian ⟨aswinan⟩ “mare's milk”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Lucilius, whom he dates c. 180–102 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant of a horse or horses, as in Varro's pecus equīnum and lac equīnum “mare's milk”, and in Cicero; the neuter as a noun was apparently a stud of horses, and an inscription has the masculine for a stallion.[2][6][7]

British Medieval Latin used it for equine, of a horse.[8] English equine is recorded in 1765.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius uses it.[5]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it.[6][5]
  • 1765 – English equine is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of a horse, equine.[2]

Noun

  1. A stud of horses; a stallion.[2][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  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
  6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  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