Etymologically
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indictus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪnˈdɪk.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [inˈdik.tus][1]

Forms

indictus (feminine indicta, neuter indictum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is formed from in- (“not”) and dictus (“said”), the participle of dīcō (“to say”).[2][3][1][4] De Vaan traces that verb to Proto-Italic *deik-e/o- (“to say”) and Proto-Indo-European *deiḱ- (“to show”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Cato, Köbler from Terence;[5][4] Terence has a character say that what was said is now unsaid.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

It means not said or not mentioned: Livy has someone unable to take back what he once sang as if it were unsaid, and Virgil promises that someone will not go unsung in his verse.[3] In law, indictā causā is without a hearing: Cato accuses someone of taking the lives of ten men without a hearing and without a judgement.[2] Apuleius uses it of the god of Plato, who cannot be spoken of.[2]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato of a death sentence without a hearing.[2][5][4]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence, said and unsaid.[2][4]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil, not unsung.[3]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius of the ineffable god.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not said, not mentioned, unsaid; unsung.[2][3][1]
  2. (law) indictā causā: without a hearing.[2]
  3. That cannot be spoken of, ineffable.[2][1]

Usage notes

indictus is also the perfect participle of indīcō, declared or proclaimed, as a war or a festival.[3][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill