indefessus

Forms

indēfessus (feminine indēfessa, neuter indēfessum, adverb indēfessē or indēfessim); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- (“not”) + dēfessus (“worn out”).^[2][1][3] The participle dēfessus belongs to dēfetīscor (“to grow weary”),^[2] which Köbler traces to dē- and fatīscor.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Virgil is the first to use it, in the Aeneid, of a tireless right hand.^[5][6][4]

Semantic evolution

It is a word of poetry and post-Augustan prose.^[5] Ovid sets it against its opposite: Jupiter's wife is dēfessa iubendō, tired of giving orders, while the speaker is indēfessus agendō, tireless in carrying them out.^[7][6] Tacitus pairs it with assiduus, diligent,^[5] and Apuleius has unceasing grief, indēfessus lūctus.^[6] Late writers made the adverbs indēfessē and indēfessim, unweariedly.^[5]

In the Middle Ages it was used of tireless servants of Christ and soldiers of God, and of unceasing zeal, care or prayer;^[8][9] Bede writes of tireless perseverance.^[9] It could also mean everlasting or indissoluble.^[8]

Timeline

• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of a tireless hand.^[5][4]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid contrasts indēfessus with dēfessa.^[7][4]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus pairs it with assiduus.^[5][4]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of unceasing grief.^[6][4]
• 639–709 AD – Aldhelm calls virginity a tireless companion.^[9][4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Tireless, unwearied, indefatigable.^[2][5]
2. Unceasing, continual.^[6]
3. (Medieval Latin) Everlasting, indissoluble.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
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 Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ a b c Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ 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