Etymologically
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laxus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈɫak.sʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈlak.sus][1]

Forms

laxus (feminine laxa, neuter laxum, comparative laxior, superlative laxissimus, adverb laxē); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *(s)lakso-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *sl̥ǵ-so- (“weak, faint”).[2][1] It is related to langueō “to be faint”, and cognate with Ancient Greek λήγω (lḗgō, “to cease”), Old Irish lacc (“slack”) and Old Norse slakr (English slack).[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Cato,[2] who says the naves of an oil press must not be loose.[3] Köbler dates Cato 234–149 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant wide or roomy, loosely packed, slack or unstrung, as of ropes and bows, loose-fitting, as of shoes in Horace, and open or gaping.[3][6] Of the body it meant relaxed, of time long or distant, and of rules and discipline free or lax.[3] Livy uses it of low prices.[3][7]

The verb laxō “to loosen” and its compound relaxō gave English relax.[7] Through Old French laissier it is also behind English release and English lease.[7] English lax was first used of the bowels about 1400.[7]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato says the naves must not be loose.[3][5]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus speaks of loose tunics for mackerel.[3][5]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace speaks of a loose shoe.[6][5]
  • c. 1400 – English lax is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Wide, spacious, roomy.[3]
  2. Loosely packed; slack, loose.[3]
  3. Open, gaping; untied.[3]
  4. (of time) Long, distant.[3]
  5. Free, unrestricted, (of discipline) lax, (of prices) low.[3]

Word family

  • laxitās
  • laxō
  • laxāmentum
  • laxē

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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 k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com