flagitiosus

Forms

flāgitiōsus (feminine flāgitiōsa, neuter flāgitiōsum, superlative flāgitiōsissimus, adverb flāgitiōsē); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin flāgitium + -ōsus, from the noun “disgraceful act, scandal”.^[2][1][3] De Vaan derives ⟨flāgitium⟩ from flāgitō (“to demand importunately”), an iterative of an unattested verb whose first sense was “to whip as punishment”, hence “to scold”; it may belong with flagrum (“whip”).^[4] He reconstructs Proto-Italic *flāg-e/o- (“to whip”) and, with doubt, Proto-Indo-European *bʰl(e)h₂g-e/o-, comparing Old Norse blaka (“to strike back and forth”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,^[3] who speaks of trials made base and scandalous and of Verres' disgraceful lusts.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is disgraceful, shocking or scandalous of actions, and of persons guilty of outrageous behaviour, infamous, as Cicero's most shameful and infamous retinue of Verres.^[2][5] Cicero defines the flāgitiōsī as those who desire sensual pleasures with an inflamed mind, so that it also means profligate or dissolute.^[5][1]

Church Latin glosses it “disgraceful”.^[6] English flagitious, “shamefully wicked”, is from it in the late 14th century.^[7]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero of scandalous trials and of Verres' retinue.^[2][3]
• late 14th century – English flagitious.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of actions, disgraceful, shocking, scandalous.^[2][5][1][6]
2. Of persons, infamous; profligate, dissolute.^[2][5][1]

Word family

• perflāgitiōsus

Related words

• flāgitium
• flāgitō
• English flagitious

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com