invitus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ɪnˈwiː.tʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [iɱˈviː.tus]^[1]

Forms

invītus (feminine invīta, neuter invītum, superlative invītissimus); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *n̥-wīto- (“unwilling”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *n̥-wih₁-to- (“not turned to, not pursuing”), with the negative prefix and the root *weyh₁- “to pursue, strive after”.^[2][1] Cognate with Sanskrit वीत (vītá-, “turned to”), Ancient Greek ἵεμαι (híemai, “to strive after”) and Lithuanian vyti (“to chase”).^[2][3] The OLD connects vīs “you want”, the second person of volō.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus, Köbler from Ennius, whose Cassandra says Apollo stirs her to madness against her will.^[2][4][3] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It was used almost like an adverb, “against one's will, unwillingly”, as Cicero's eum invītissimus dīmīsī “I let him go most reluctantly”, and in mē invītō “against my will”.^[3][5] Poets applied it to things thought of as having a will, as Virgil's evening star rising against the will of Olympus, and it meant done or used unwillingly.^[3]

Medieval Latin also used it passively, “loathsome, hard to bear”.^[6] Old French envis “unwillingly” continued it.^[1] The similar invītō “to invite” has an uncertain origin, and English invite comes from it.^[7]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius' Cassandra is driven to madness against her will.^[3][4]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero lets a man go most reluctantly.^[5][4]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil's evening star rises against the will of Olympus.^[3][4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Unwilling, reluctant, against one's will.^[3]
2. (poetic, of things) Unwilling.^[3]
3. Done or used unwillingly.^[3]
4. (Medieval Latin) Loathsome, hard to bear.^[6]

Related words

• invītō
• via
• vīs
• volō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com