Etymologically
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erectus

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Forms

ērectus (feminine ērecta, neuter ērectum, comparative ērectior); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is the participle of ērigō (“to raise up, erect”), used as an adjective.[1][2][3] The verb is from ex- (“out, up”) and regō (“to direct, guide”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *reg-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ-e/o- (“to stretch, direct”), cognate with Sanskrit ऋञ्जन्ति (r̥ñjánti, “they stretch, direct”); the long vowel of ⟨rēctus⟩ is due to Lachmann's Law.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives the Rhetorica ad Herennium;[3] Varro describes good hens with an upright comb.[1]

Semantic evolution

It is upright, erect or perpendicular, as Varro's hens, and raised, as Celsus' patient laid on his back with hips raised.[1][2] Of the emotions it is confident, bold or assured, as Cicero's “I am much more confident because you have agreed that he is an enemy”, and of character noble or aspiring, as Cicero's man of a more elevated mind who hides his desire for pleasure out of shame.[1][2] It is attentive or alert, as Cicero's ideal of a crowded audience and an attentive judge, and with ad intent on something.[1][5]

Church Latin glosses it “attentive, erect”.[5]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro of hens with upright combs.[1][3]
  • 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium.[3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of confidence, noble minds and attentive judges.[1][3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Upright, erect; raised.[1][2][5]
  2. Confident, bold; noble, lofty.[1][2]
  3. Attentive, alert; intent (on).[1][5]

References

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