intrinsecus

Forms

intrīnsecus (not comparable)^[1]

Etymology

It is an adverb formed from ⟨*intrim⟩, a form of inter (“between, among”), and secus² (“alongside”), on the model of extrinsecus (“from outside”).^[2][3][4] Georges and Lewis and Short give its first part as intrā (“within”),^[5][6] and Wiktionary as ⟨inter⟩.^[1] The grammarian Priscian already derived it from ⟨intrā⟩.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found first in Cato's De agricultura, meaning “on the inside”.^[4][7][5]

Semantic evolution

Its main sense is “on the inside, internally”, as in Lucretius' throats black within, and Celsus' liver that is hollow inside and rounded outside.^[6][5][4] Lewis and Short call it mostly ante-classical and post-Augustan.^[6] It also meant “from within”, as in the Bellum Africum, where a commander attacks part of the enemy from the inside with his cavalry,^[2][5] and “inwards”, as in Columella's vine shoots bent towards the inside.^[2][4]

In Late Latin an adjective ⟨intrinsecus⟩ “inward” appears, first in Cassiodorus,^[6][7] and in medieval Latin the adjective meant “internal, interior”, with its neuter used as a noun for the furniture of a house.^[8] From the medieval adjective came English intrinsic, through Old French.^[9]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato uses it for “on the inside”.^[4][7]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius has throats black inside.^[6][7]
• 1st century AD – Columella uses it for “inwards”.^[2][7]
• c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses the adjective intrinsecus “inward”.^[6][7]
• late 15th century – English takes intrinsic from the medieval adjective, through French.^[9]

Meanings

Adverb

1. On the inside, internally.^[2][6]
2. From within.^[2][4]
3. To the inside, inwards.^[2][5]

Adjective

1. (Late Latin) inward, inner.^[6][10]
2. (Medieval Latin) internal, interior; as a neuter noun, the furniture of a house.^[8]

Related words

• extrinsecus
• intrā
• inter
• English intrinsic

Usage notes

A by-form ⟨intresecus⟩, opposed to ⟨foris⟩ “outside”, is found in an inscription.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e f Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson