Etymologically
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lascivia

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɫasˈkiː.wi.a][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [laʃˈʃiː.vi.a][1]

Forms

lascīvia f (genitive lascīviae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin lascīvus (“playful, wanton”) + -ia.[2][1][3] De Vaan lists it under ⟨lascīvus⟩, built on a stem Proto-Italic *lasko- from Proto-Indo-European *lh₂s-ko- (“desirous”), cognate with Old Irish lainn (“eager”), Ancient Greek λιλαίομαι (lilaíomai, “to desire strongly”) and Russian ла́сый (lásyj, “greedy, eager, affectionate”); a link with laciō (“to entice”) is possible but less likely in meaning.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus,[4][5] who describes a young man “full of love and wantonness”.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Of animals it is frisking: Pacuvius speaks of the play of fish.[2] Of people it is playfulness and fun, as Cicero's list of cheerfulness, playfulness, laughter and jest, or Lucretius' merry country revels.[2][6] Terence uses it of unruly, dissolute behaviour, of a mind “flowing away in luxury and licence”, and Plautus already of sexual freedom.[2] Seneca and Quintilian apply it to an undisciplined style; for Seneca a licentious style of speech is a sign of public luxury.[2]

In Medieval Latin it is lust.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a young man's wantonness.[2][5]
  • 220–130 BC – Pacuvius of the play of fish.[2][5]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence of dissolute behaviour.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of playfulness and fun.[2][5]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca of an undisciplined style.[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Frisking, play, sport.[2][6]
  2. Playfulness, fun, jollity, jesting.[2][6][1]
  3. Unruly or licentious behaviour; sexual freedom, wantonness.[2][1]
  4. Of style, lack of restraint.[2]
  5. (Medieval Latin) lust.[7]

Usage notes

Döderlein sets it beside petulantia, procācitās and protervitās: all offend against modesty, but lascīvia springs from high spirits and a want of seriousness, a love of play.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b 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 e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper