Etymologically
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liquidus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈlɪ.kʷɪ.dʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈliː.kʷi.dus][1]

Forms

liquidus (feminine liquida, neuter liquidum, comparative liquidior, superlative liquidissimus, adverb liquidē or liquidō); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from liqueō “to be liquid” with the suffix -idus.[2][1][3] The first syllable is usually short, but long in Lucretius.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Naevius, whom he dates c. 235–200 BC.[5] The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of what is certain and of a serene mind, and Cato, of liquids.[2]

Semantic evolution

It meant liquid, fluid, and as a neuter noun a liquid, water, as in Cato and Horace, and in Virgil of metals molten.[2][6] It was a stock epithet of the sea, the air and fire, as in Catullus and Lucretius, and in grammar a liquid consonant.[2] It meant thin, runny, as in Lucretius, and clear, limpid, of water in Cato and of the sky in Ennius.[2] From Lucretius it meant clear-toned, melodious, in Catullus of the mind clear, and in Cicero pure.[2] From Plautus it meant evident, certain, ad liquidum “to a certainty”, and of the mind serene.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant liquid, flowing, and as a noun clearness, certainty.[7] It was borrowed into Italian as liquido and French liquide, and Old French gave English liquid in the late 14th century.[1][3]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.[5]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of the certain and the serene.[2][5]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of liquids.[2][5]
  • late 14th century – English liquid is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Liquid, fluid; molten; as a noun, water.[2]
  2. Of the sea, air or fire, flowing, clear.[2]
  3. (grammar) Of consonants, liquid.[2]
  4. Runny, thin.[2]
  5. Clear, limpid, bright.[2]
  6. Clear-toned, melodious.[2]
  7. Clear (of mind); pure.[2]
  8. Evident, certain, ad liquidum, to a certainty.[2]
  9. Serene.[2]

Word family

  • liquiditās
  • liquidiusculus
  • liquidum
  • perliquidus
  • pseudoliquidus
  • liquidē
  • liquidō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson