Etymologically
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iucunde

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 20 October 2026 at 13:24. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [juːˈkʊn.deː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [juˈkun.de][1]

Forms

iūcundē (comparative iūcundius, superlative iūcundissimē)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin iūcundus (“pleasant”) + -ē.[2][1][3] That adjective is formed from iuvō (“to help, delight”) with the suffix ⟨-cundus⟩;[2] de Vaan traces the verb to Proto-Italic *ijow- and Proto-Indo-European *h₁i-h₁euH- (“to help”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,[3] who says it is in our power to remember good fortune pleasantly and sweetly.[5]

Semantic evolution

It means pleasantly, agreeably, delightfully: Horace drew out a dinner very pleasantly, and the Elder Seneca speaks of someone dining more pleasantly with a mistress.[5][2] Church Latin glosses it merrily, pleasantly, delightfully.[6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of remembering pleasantly.[5][3]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace of a pleasant dinner.[5]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Pleasantly, agreeably, delightfully.[2][1][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  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 Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson