lethargicus

Forms

lēthārgicus (feminine lēthārgica, neuter lēthārgicum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ληθαργικός (lēthargikós, “drowsy”),^[2][1][3] from λήθαργος (lḗthargos, “forgetful; inactive”).^[3][4] Köbler compares λήθη (lḗthē, “forgetfulness”) and ἀργός (argós, “idle”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Horace is the first to use it, as a noun for a person suffering from lethargy: “ut lethargicus hic cum fit pugil et medicum urget” (“as when this sleepy man turns boxer and goes for his doctor”).^[5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

The noun is frequent in Pliny the Elder, usually in the plural,^[6][7] who also has the adjective in morbus lethargicus.^[5] Caelius Aurelianus speaks of the lethargic illness,^[6] Augustine of lethargic sleep,^[5][6] and Marcellus notes that the Greeks call the drowsy lethargici.^[8]

Medieval Latin, often spelling it litargicus or letargicus, used it of the sick^[9] and figuratively of the sluggish and negligent.^[10] English borrowed it in the late 14th century as litargik.^[3]

Timeline

• 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of a lethargic man.^[5][4]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses the noun and the adjective.^[5][6][4]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine speaks of lethargic sleep.^[5][6][4]
• 5th century AD – Caelius Aurelianus speaks of the lethargic illness.^[6][4]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as litargik.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Drowsy, lethargic: morbus lēthargicus.^[5][6]
2. (Medieval Latin, figurative) Sluggish, negligent.^[10]

Noun

1. A person suffering from lethargy.^[2][5]

Related words

• lēthargus
• lēthargia
• English lethargic

Usage notes

Medieval texts often spell it litargicus or letargicus.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b 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
10. ^ a b Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT