informis

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ĩːˈfoːr.mɪs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [iɱˈfɔr.mis]^[1]

Forms

īnfōrmis (neuter īnfōrme); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from in- “not” and fōrma “form, beauty” with the adjective ending -is.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is the Rhetorica ad Herennium, which he dates 86/82 BC.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant without definite shape, shapeless, unformed, as of a raw block in Livy and Pliny the Elder; ugly, unsightly, hideous, as in Virgil; and unseemly, degrading, as in Virgil.^[2][4]

British Medieval Latin used it for formless, and for not yet shaped as intended.^[5]

Timeline

• 86/82 BC – the Rhetorica ad Herennium uses it.^[3]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of ugliness.^[2][3]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of the unshaped.^[4][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Shapeless, formless, unformed.^[2]
2. Ugly, hideous.^[2]
3. Unseemly, degrading.^[2]

Word family

• informitas

Related words

• fōrma
• dēfōrmis
• īnfōrmō

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ 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