fumus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈfuː.mʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfuː.mus]^[1]

Forms

fūmus m (genitive fūmī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *fūmo-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *dʰuh₂-mó- (“smoke”).^[2][1] Cognate with Sanskrit धूम (dhūmá, “smoke”), Lithuanian dūmai (“smoke”), Old Church Slavonic дымъ (dymŭ, “smoke”), Old High German toum (“steam”) and Ancient Greek θυμός (thumós, “spirit”).^[2][3][4] Schrijver explains the long /ū/, where a shortening would be expected, by analogy with fūlīgō “soot” and suffiō “to fumigate”.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, whose miser grudges even the smoke that escapes from his roof.^[2][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant smoke, fumes, and in the plural clouds of smoke, as the smoke signals from forts in Caesar.^[3] Smoke was a sign of fire, as in Cicero's proverb that smoke proves fire, and was used to cure hams in Cato's recipe, and for torture.^[3] It also meant steam, mist or vapour, as the light mist the earth breathes out in Virgil.^[3] By transfer it meant something without substance, and fūmum vendere “to sell smoke” was to make empty promises.^[3][6]

In Medieval Latin it meant a hearth, a household as a unit of taxation, and something evanescent.^[7][8][9] It survives in Italian fumo, Spanish humo and French fumée.^[1] English fume came from it through Old French in the late 14th century.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of smoke from a roof.^[3][5]
• 234–149 BC – Cato uses it for curing hams.^[3][5]
• c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of smoke signals.^[3][5]
• late 14th century – English fume is recorded.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. Smoke, fumes.^[3]
2. Steam, mist, vapour.^[3]
3. (figurative) Something without substance.^[3]
4. (Medieval Latin) A hearth, household.^[7]

Word family

• fūmārium
• fūmeus
• fūmifer
• fūmificō
• fūmificus
• fūmigō
• fūmō
• fūmōsus
• fūmidus

Related words

• fūlīgō
• suffiō
• English fume

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 h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com