Etymologically
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lepidus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈɫɛ.pɪ.dʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈlɛː.pi.dus][1]

Forms

lepidus (feminine lepida, neuter lepidum, superlative lepidissimus, adverb lepidē); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is formed with the suffix ⟨-idus⟩ on the root of lepōs (“charm, grace”), as nitidus (“shining”) beside nitor (“brightness”); whether the noun or the adjective came first is uncertain.[2][3][1] De Vaan tentatively derives lepōs from Proto-Indo-European *lep-os- (“peel, rind”), so that its sense would have shifted from what has been peeled to refinement, as did Ancient Greek λεπτός (leptós, “peeled; thin, delicate”); he finds the link with the Greek words not compelling.[3] The OLD suggests that the adjective comes from the Greek adjective.[4] Ancient glossaries derived it from lepus (“hare”), the softest of animals.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates the word family from Plautus,[3] whose Bacchides pictures a charming young man reclining with a charming girl.[4]

Semantic evolution

It means agreeable, charming or delightful, of persons and things, as Plautus' “o lovely day!”, and Lewis & Short note that it is especially frequent in Plautus and Terence and very rare in Cicero.[4][5] De Vaan observes that the family disappears from use after Cicero.[3] Of remarks and books it means witty or amusing, as in the Rhetorica ad Herennium.[4] Wiktionary also gives the sense effeminate.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a charming youth and a lovely day.[4][6]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence of a kind and charming man.[5][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it rarely.[5][6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Agreeable, charming, delightful, nice.[4][5][1]
  2. Of remarks or books, witty, amusing.[4][1]
  3. Effeminate.[1]

Word family

  • illepidus
  • lepidulus
  • perlepidus
  • lepidē

Usage notes

Lepidus is also a Roman cognomen of the gens Aemilia, borne by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus the triumvir.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de