Etymologically
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insidiae

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ĩːˈsɪ.di.ae̯][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [inˈsiː.di.e][1]

Forms

īnsidiae f pl (genitive īnsidiārum); first declension[1] It is normally plural; a singular īnsidia is quoted from Sallust.[2][1]

Etymology

It is derived from īnsideō (“to sit in, occupy”) with the suffix ⟨-ia⟩.[3][1] īnsideō is formed from in- and sedeō (“to sit”),[2] which goes back to Proto-Italic *sed-ē- (“to be seated”) and Proto-Indo-European *sed-eh₁- (“to be seated”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Plautus,[5] who has is nostrae nāvī lembus īnsidiās dabat, “that cutter was lying in wait for our ship”.[3]

Semantic evolution

Īnsidiae is lying in wait, an ambush, and the place of ambush (ex īnsidiīs, “from hiding”); with dare or facere it means to lay a trap for someone.[3] In military language it is troops placed in concealment for a surprise attack, or the troops themselves.[3][2] It is a snare for wild animals,[3] and in general a treacherous attack or plot (Cicero: no plots are more hidden than those concealed under a show of duty), applied also to the treachery of the sea or the night.[3][1] Finally it is a trick, a device to deceive.[3][1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: is nostrae nāvī lembus īnsidiās dabat.[3][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius: the īnsidiae of the treacherous sea.[3][5]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of troops in ambush.[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An ambush; lying in wait.[3][2][1]
  2. (military) Troops placed in ambush; the place of an ambush.[3]
  3. A snare for animals.[3]
  4. A treacherous attack, plot.[3][1]
  5. A trick, artifice.[3][1]

Word family

  • īnsidiōsus
  • īnsidior

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  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 d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de