fanum

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈfaː.nũː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfaː.num]^[1]

Forms

fānum n (genitive fānī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *fasno- (“temple”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₁s-no- (“consecrated place”), a derivative of the root seen in fēriae “holidays” and fēstus “festive”.^[2][1] Cognate with Oscan fíísnú (“temple”), Paelignian fesn (“temple”) and Umbrian fesnafe (“into the temples”).^[2][3] Lewis & Short, after Varro and Festus, derive it from fārī “to speak”.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, where a sacristan is asked to open the shrine, and Ennius speaks of shrines burnt by flames.^[2][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It was originally a piece of ground consecrated by an augur, and usually a shrine or temple.^[3] As a place name it was the town Fānum Fortūnae in Umbria, today's Fano.^[3][4]

In medieval Latin it was a pagan sanctuary, and in Britain also a church, especially in place names.^[6][7] Its derivatives profānus “outside the temple, unholy” and fānāticus “inspired by a god” gave English profane in the mid-15th century and English fanatic in the 1520s.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has a shrine opened.^[3][5]
• c. 50 BC – Caesar occupies the town of Fanum.^[3][5]
• mid-15th century – English profane is recorded.^[8]
• 1520s – English fanatic is recorded.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A piece of consecrated ground; a shrine, temple.^[3]
2. (Medieval Latin) A pagan sanctuary; a church.^[6][7]

Word family

• fānāticus
• profānō
• profānus
• fānāticē
• fānitālis
• fānō
• fānulum

Related words

• fēriae
• fās
• English profane
• English fanatic

Usage notes

Döderlein counts templum, fānum and dēlūbrum as the temple with its sacred precinct, against aedēs, the building only, templum was the great temple of a main god, fānum a smaller one.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b 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
8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper