innoxius

Forms

innoxius (feminine innoxia, neuter innoxium); first/second-declension adjective^[1] The comparative innoxiior occurs only in a speech of Cato.^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from the negative prefix in- (“not”) and noxius (“harmful, guilty”).^[2][3] De Vaan derives ⟨noxius⟩ from noxa (“harm, offence”), perhaps as a back-formation from obnoxius, and both from noceō (“to harm”), which goes back to Proto-Italic *nokeje- (“to cause death”) and Proto-Indo-European *noḱ-eie- (“to make disappear, cause death”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Plautus,^[3] where a man complains of being mocked though he is poor and innocent.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is blameless or innocent, of people, also with an ablative or genitive of an offence, as Tacitus' innocent age of children, and of actions not accompanied by crime or malice.^[2] Actively it is harmless or innocuous, as Virgil's words that were not harmless, Pliny's animals harmless to the natives, and Virgil's harmless snake.^[2][5] Passively it is unharmed or safe, and unpunished, as Sallust's men who lived unharmed and flourishing without fear.^[2][1]

In medieval Latin it is “not bound”.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a poor and innocent man.^[2][3]
• 86–34 BC – Sallust of people living unharmed.^[2][3]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil of a harmless snake.^[5][3]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus of innocent children.^[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Blameless, innocent.^[2][1]
2. Of actions, inoffensive, without malice.^[2]
3. Not injurious, harmless, innocuous.^[2][5][1]
4. Unharmed, safe; unpunished.^[2][1]
5. (Medieval Latin) Not bound.^[6]

Related words

• noxius
• noceō
• innocuus
• innocēns

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 l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill