Etymologically
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iuvenalis

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Forms

iuvenālis (neuter iuvenāle); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin iuvenis (“young; young man”) + -ālis.[1][2][3] The TLL compares the formation of virginālis.[2] De Vaan traces iuvenis to Proto-Italic *juwen- (“young”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₂iu-h₁en- (“who possesses vital force”), with cognates such as Sanskrit युवन् (yúvan-, “young”) and Lithuanian jáunas (“young”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Virgil,[5] who has a speaker in the Aeneid tell the onlookers to learn what strength he once had in his youthful body.[1][6]

Semantic evolution

It means of or worthy of a young man or woman: Virgil uses it of youthful strength, arms and love,[1][6] Ovid of persons in their prime and of a statue of a young man.[1] It also describes what is characteristic of the young, and of age it means young, not advanced, as Ovid's young years.[1] The lūdī iuvenālēs were games in which young men performed, especially those Nero introduced: Tacitus says Nero had sung at home at these games before.[1][6] Lewis & Short call it mostly poetic and post-Augustan.[6] Döderlein distinguishes it from iuvenīlis: iuvenālis is youthful in a neutral sense or in praise, as opposed to the weakness of old age, while iuvenīlis leans towards the faults of youth.[7] Manuscripts often confuse the two.[1]

Timeline

  • 70–19 BC – Virgil of youthful strength and love.[1][5]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid of the young years.[1]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus of Nero's youth games.[1]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or worthy of a young person, youthful;[1][6] (of persons) in one's youth or prime;[1][6] (of art) representing a young person.[1][6]
  2. Characteristic of or practised by young men;[1][6] lūdī iuvenālēs, games in which young men performed, especially those instituted by Nero.[1][6]
  3. (of age) Young, not advanced; belonging to one's youth.[1]

Usage notes

As a Roman cognomen Iuvenālis is best known as the name of the satirist Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis, Juvenal, whom Martial names.[1][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper