lepide

Forms

lepidē (comparative lepidius, superlative lepidissimē)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin lepidus (“charming, pleasant”) + -ē.^[2][1] The OLD suggests that lepidus may come from Ancient Greek λεπτός (leptós, “fine, delicate”);^[2] Wiktionary derives it from a root *lep- with the suffix -idus, the root of lepōs (“charm, grace”), whose origin is unclear.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Plautus,^[3] who uses it often, as in Pseudolus of tricking a pimp nicely.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It means charmingly, pleasantly, wittily or neatly.^[2][1] In Plautus it is above all a word of approval, “fine, excellent”, as in the Bacchides: “what if you keep quiet and I speak?” – “Fine, go ahead”.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of clever tricks and as a word of approval.^[2][4][3]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Charmingly, pleasantly, wittily, neatly.^[2][1]
2. As a word of approval, fine, excellent.^[2]

Related words

• lepidus
• lepōs

References

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