Etymologically
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igneus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈɪŋ.ne.ʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈiɲ.ɲe.us][1]

Forms

igneus (feminine ignea, neuter igneum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ignis (“fire”) + -eus.[2][1] De Vaan traces ignis to Proto-Italic *n̥gʷni- (“fire”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₁n̥gʷ-ni- (“a fire”).[3] Cognate with Sanskrit अग्नि (agní-, “fire”) and Lithuanian ugnìs (“fire”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Laevius;[4] de Vaan dates it from Lucretius.[3]

Semantic evolution

It means made of or belonging to the element of fire, as in Cicero's discussion of whether a living being is earthy, fiery or airy, and his view that the stars are wholly fiery.[2][5] It is burning or on fire, as Cicero's fiery thunderbolt, and of heavenly bodies, as the fiery sun.[2] Virgil uses it of a fiery colour that foretells east winds, of burning thirst, and of Camilla's swift feet, and Horace of the fiery summer.[2] Of persons and passions it means fiery or ardent, as Ovid's “fiery madness within”.[2] Church Latin glosses it “fiery, burning, flaming, glowing with heat”.[6] English igneous is from the 1660s.[7]

Timeline

  • 2nd/1st century BC – Laevius.[4]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius.[3][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the element of fire and of a thunderbolt.[2][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil of fiery colour, burning thirst and swift feet.[2][4]
  • 1660s – Borrowed into English as igneous.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of the element of fire.[2]
  2. Consisting of fire, burning, on fire.[2][5][6][1]
  3. Fiery in colour, heat or speed; flame-coloured.[2][1]
  4. Of persons and passions, fiery, ardent.[2][1]

Word family

  • igneolus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b 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