Etymologically
Log in

facundia

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 19 October 2026 at 17:25. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [faːˈkʊn.di.a][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [faˈkun.di.a][1]

Forms

fācundia f (genitive fācundiae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin fācundus (“eloquent”) + -ia.[2][1] The adjective fācundus belongs to for (“to speak”), though the origin of its suffix is uncertain.[3] De Vaan traces the verb to Proto-Italic *fā- (“to speak”) and Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to speak”).[3] Cognate with Oscan faamat and Ancient Greek φημί (phēmí, “I say”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Terence,[4] who in a prologue says what an actor can do by eloquence.[5]

Semantic evolution

It is the ability to speak or write fluently and eloquently, and in the plural examples of eloquence.[2] Lewis & Short note that, like fācundus, it was not common until after Augustus and does not occur in Cicero, Caesar or Livy.[5] Sallust says the Greeks excelled in eloquence and the Gauls in war, and Ovid applies it to a person, calling Maximus the eloquence of the Roman tongue.[5][2] In Medieval Latin it also means learning or culture, and faculty or power.[6]

Timeline

  • 190–159 BC – Terence of an actor's eloquence.[5][4]
  • 86–34 BC – Sallust of Greek eloquence.[5][4]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid of a person as the embodiment of eloquence.[2][4]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian of training eloquence.[5][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Eloquence, fluency of speech or writing; in the plural, examples of eloquence.[2][5][1]
  2. Of a person, the embodiment of eloquence.[2][5]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Learning, culture; faculty, power.[6]

Word family

  • fācundiōsus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill