istuc

Forms

istūc (not comparable)^[1]

Etymology

The OLD takes it as perhaps from ⟨*istoic⟩, an old locative of direction from Latin istic (“that of yours”), comparing Ancient Greek ποῖ (poî, “whither”).^[2] De Vaan lists it among the adverbs made from iste (“that (of yours)”), going back to Proto-Italic *es-to-.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,^[3][4] where a woman says she is going there as fast as she can.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It means to or toward the place where the person addressed is: Plautus and Terence use it often in this way.^[2][5] In letters it is to where you are, to you, as when Cicero tells Atticus that no one going there should be sent without a letter.^[2] Transferred, it is to the point in a story or argument which the other person has mentioned: in Terence a man says he will come to that later.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus, going there.^[2][3][4]
• 190–159 BC – Terence of coming to a point.^[2]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero in letters, to where you are.^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. To or toward the place where you are, thither.^[2][5][1]
2. To the point you have mentioned.^[2][1]

Related words

• iste
• istinc
• hūc

Usage notes

istuc with a short u is also the neuter of the pronoun istic, istic, istaec, istuc, that of yours.^[3][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.