Etymologically
Log in

inoffensus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 09:25. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɪ.nɔfˈfẽː.sʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [i.nofˈfɛn.sus][1]

Forms

inoffēnsus (feminine inoffēnsa, neuter inoffēnsum, adverb inoffēnsē); first/second-declension adjective[1] The adverb is inoffēnsē.[1]

Etymology

It is formed from in- (“not”) and offēnsus, the participle of offendō (“to strike against”).[2][1] De Vaan traces the verb ⟨-fendō⟩, preserved only in compounds, to Proto-Italic *χʷ(e)nd- and Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰen-dʰ- (“to hit, strike”).[3] Cognate with Sanskrit हन्ति (hánti, “to kill”), Ancient Greek θείνω (theínō, “to strike”) and Lithuanian gìnti (“to protect, defend”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Virgil,[4] who has the sea flowing up unbroken with the rising tide, mare inoffensum crescenti adlabitur aestu.[2]

Semantic evolution

It means not striking against an obstacle, moving without obstruction, especially of feet;[2] Lewis & Short call it poetic and post-Augustan.[5] Of a path or course it is uninterrupted or smooth: Seneca prays that the eternal stars may run their courses unhindered.[2] It also means not collided with, as in Lucan's charioteer who brings his car close to the turning post without touching it,[2][5] and unharmed: Ovid wishes a friend to reach the end of life unharmed.[2] Pliny the Younger uses it of passing through a region of abundant pleasures unhindered.[5] In Church Latin it means unhurt.[6]

Timeline

  • 70–19 BC – Virgil, of the sea flowing unbroken.[2][4]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid, of reaching the end of life unharmed.[2][4]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca, of the stars' unhindered courses.[2][4]
  • 39–65 AD – Lucan, of a turning post not grazed.[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not striking against an obstacle, unobstructed, unhindered;[2][5][1] of a course, uninterrupted, smooth.[2][1]
  2. Not collided with, untouched.[2][5]
  3. Not harmed, unhurt.[2][5][6]

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 n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ 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
  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 d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson