indoles

Forms

indolēs f (genitive indolis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from the old preposition indu (“in”) and ⟨*-olēs⟩ “growth”, from the root of alō (“to nourish”), like prōlēs (“offspring”) and subolēs (“offspring”).^[2][3][1] De Vaan derives ⟨alō⟩ from Proto-Italic *ale/o- (“to feed”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-e/o-, and notes that adolēscō (“to grow up”) shows an older ⟨*alē-⟩ “to be growing”.^[4] Cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌽 (alan, “to grow up”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has “in him there is a perfect gentlemanly nature of his own” in the Miles gloriosus;^[2] Köbler also gives Plautus.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It is innate character, nature or disposition, and a particular quality or natural bent, as Livy's Hasdrubal, taken as son-in-law by Hamilcar for another quality of his mind.^[2][6][1] In a pregnant sense it is natural excellence or talent, as Cicero's “I saw his talent at once and urged him to treat the forum as his school”, and the flower or rising hope of a class, as Valerius Maximus' whole flower of the nobility.^[2][6][1]

Church Latin glosses it “genius, talent, character, nature”.^[7] In Medieval Latin it is also a youth, a title of honour for a young prince, and offspring.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a gentlemanly nature.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of a young man's talent.^[2][5]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of Hasdrubal's character.^[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Innate character, nature, disposition; a natural bent.^[2][6][1][7]
2. Natural excellence, talent; the flower, rising hope (of a class or family).^[2][6][1][7]
3. (Medieval Latin) A youth; a title of a young prince; offspring.^[8]

Related words

• alō
• prōlēs
• subolēs
• adolēscō
• ingenium

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill