Etymologically
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filius

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈfiː.li.ʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfiː.li.us][1]

Forms

fīlius m (genitive fīliī or fīlī, feminine fīlia); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *fīlio/ā- (“son, daughter”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *dʰ(e)h₁i-l- (“suckling, child”), from the root *dʰeh₁(y)- “to suck”.[2][1] Cognate with Venetic filia (“daughter”), Faliscan fileo (“son”) and Ancient Greek θηλή (thēlḗ, “teat”), and related to fēlīx, fēmina and fēlō “to suck”.[2][3] Isidore derives it from familia.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from the Twelve Tables and Livius Andronicus, who has the vocative fīlie.[2][3][5] Köbler dates the Twelve Tables c. 450 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant a son, in the plural children including daughters, and as an affectionate address to a younger man.[3] Phrases include fīlius familiās, a son still under his father's power, and terrae fīlius “son of the earth”, a nobody.[7][6] In Christian Latin Fīlius was the Son, the second person of the Trinity.[6]

In British medieval Latin it was used in patronymics and surnames and to mean “junior”.[8] Anglo-Norman fitz from it gave the English name prefix Fitz-.[1] Late Latin fīliālis gave English filial, and affīliāre “to adopt as a son” gave English affiliate.[9] The DÉRom reconstructs Proto-Romance */ˈɸili-u/, continued in every Romance language, as in Italian figlio and French fils.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 450 BC – the Twelve Tables use it.[2][6]
  • before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus has the vocative fīlie.[5][6]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence speaks of giving a son a wife.[3][6]
  • late 14th century – English filial is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A son.[3]
  2. (plural) Children, descendants.[3]
  3. (as an address) My son, my boy.[3]
  4. fīlius familiās, a son under his father's power.[6]
  5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The Son (of God).[6]

Word family

  • fīlia
  • fīliaster
  • fīliastra
  • filietas
  • fīliolus
  • prōfīlius
  • fīliālis

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d 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. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom