lassus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈɫas.sʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈlas.sus]^[1]

Forms

lassus (feminine lassa, neuter lassum, comparative lassior, superlative lassissimus); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *lasso-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *lh₁d-to- (“tired”), a verbal adjective of the root Proto-Indo-European *leh₁d-, a d-enlargement of Proto-Indo-European *leh₁- (“to let”).^[2][1] Cognate with Ancient Greek ληδεῖν (lēdeîn, “to be tired”) (in Hesychius), Albanian lodhem (“to be tired”), Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐍄𐍃 (lats, “slow”) and Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐍄𐌰𐌽 (lētan, “to let”).^[2][3] Lewis & Short thought it a by-form of laxus.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Plautus a character says he is tired from the voyage.^[3][2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It was tired, weary or exhausted, mostly in poetry and post-Augustan prose, and poets used it of soil worn out by crops.^[3][4] It also meant weary in mind, as in Plautus, worn out by love, and rēs lassae were misfortunes.^[3] Döderlein says that fessus and fatīgātus describe a man who longs for rest from weariness he feels, lassus one who needs rest from real weakness after work.^[6]

In medieval Latin it kept the sense “weary, tired of”.^[7] It survives as Italian lasso, French las and Spanish laso.^[1] English lassitude comes from its derivative lassitūdō, while English late is a Germanic cognate.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[3][5]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid speaks of soil growing old, tired from constant crops.^[3][5]
• early 15th century – English lassitude is recorded, from lassitūdō.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Tired, weary, exhausted.^[3][4]
2. Of soil or plants, worn out.^[3]
3. Weary in mind, sick at heart.^[3]
4. Rēs lassae, misfortune, distress.^[3]

Word family

• lassitūdō
• lassō
• lassulus
• lassescō

Related words

• lēnis
• lētum
• English lassitude
• English late

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
7. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com