gener

Forms

gener m (genitive generī); second declension^[1] Accius has the archaic dative plural generibus.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *g(e)mro-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *ǵm̥-ro- (“son-in-law”).^[4][1] De Vaan explains the Latin form through ⟨*gemros⟩ > ⟨*genros⟩, with the nasal assimilated to the following /r/;^[4][1] the TLL and the OLD start from ⟨*gemeros⟩, changed by the influence of gēns, genitor and gignō.^[5][2]

Cognate with Ancient Greek γαμβρός (gambrós, “son-in-law”), Avestan zāmātar- (“son-in-law”) and Albanian dhëndër (“son-in-law, bridegroom”).^[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler first records it in Ennius;^[6] de Vaan dates it from Plautus,^[4] who has meī virī gener, “my husband's son-in-law”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Gener is a daughter's husband, a son-in-law (Cicero: sons-in-law do not bathe with their fathers-in-law).^[2][3][1]

Church Latin also uses it for a brother-in-law.^[7] In medieval Latin it could be a sister's husband, a wife's brother, and even a father-in-law.^[8]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it.^[6]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: meī virī gener.^[3][4][6]
• 170–c. 90 BC – Accius has the dative generibus.^[2][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero: cum socerīs generī nōn lavantur.^[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A son-in-law.^[2][3][1][7]
2. (Ecclesiastical and Medieval Latin) A brother-in-law.^[7][8]
3. (Medieval Latin) A father-in-law.^[8]

Word family

• prōgener

Related words

• socer
• nurus

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 d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill