Etymologically
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fimum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈfɪ.mũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈfiː.mum][1]

Forms

fimum n (genitive fimī); second declension[1] Also fimus, which is masculine in Late Latin and feminine in Apuleius.[2][3]

Etymology

Its origin is uncertain.[4][2] The OLD suggests that it may be cognate with foeteō (“to stink”) and suffiō (“to fumigate”).[2] De Vaan thinks that, if it belongs with fūmus (“smoke”) and suffiō, it was derived from a verb ⟨*-fiō⟩ after that verb had already taken the form ⟨*fi-⟩.[4] Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Italic *fūje- and Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂-.[1] De Vaan reports that Ernout and Meillet took the masculine to be older and the neuter to be due to stercus (“dung”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler record it first in Cato,[4][5] in the sense of dung or manure.[6]

Semantic evolution

It is the dung of animals, especially as used for manure or fuel.[2] Lucilius has the dung of a stable, Livy cow dung, Pliny the Elder that of goats, sheep and donkeys, and Virgil tells farmers to soak dry ground with rich dung.[3] Virgil also uses it of filth in general.[3][6] Tertullian uses it figuratively, of the filth of desire.[6] In British Medieval Latin it also meant a dunghill, land being manured, and a substance in alchemy.[7] It survives in Italian fimo, and through Vulgar Latin in Old French fien and Catalan fem.[1]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato, “dung, manure”.[6][5]
  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius, of the dung of a stable.[3][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil, of manure and of filth.[3][5]
  • 639–709 AD – Aldhelm, of the stench of a prison.[7][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Dung, excrement of animals, especially as manure or fuel.[2][3]
  2. Filth, dirt; figuratively, moral filth.[3][6]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A dunghill; land being manured.[7]

Usage notes

The OLD notes that the masculine is not clearly attested before Late Latin, while Apuleius has the feminine ablative liquida fimo.[2][3]

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 d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ a b c 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