loquax

Forms

loquāx (genitive loquācis, comparative loquācior, superlative loquācissimus, adverb loquāciter); third-declension one-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin loquor (“to speak”) + -āx.^[2][3][1] De Vaan traces loquor to Proto-Italic *(t)lokʷ-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *tlokʷ- (“to talk”).^[4] Cognate with Old Irish ad·tluchedar (“gives thanks”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first example is in Plautus' Aulularia: “we women are all rightly thought talkative”.^[2] Köbler dates it from Cicero.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It means talkative or loquacious, and Cicero writes that old age is by nature more talkative, and of a very talkative man who fell silent.^[6] Of writing it is wordy, as Cicero's long letter; of birds and animals it is chattering, as Virgil's croaking frogs, and also of water.^[2] Of things that cannot speak it means talking, as Seneca's speaking oak of Dodona, and of gestures expressive, as Tibullus' eloquent nods exchanged in the presence of a husband.^[2] Döderlein explains that the loquax is tiresome by the quantity of what he says, the garrulus by its quality.^[7] English loquacious (1660s) is formed from its stem.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of talkative women.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of talkative old age and a wordy letter.^[6][2][5]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil of croaking frogs.^[2][5]
• 1660s – English loquacious is formed from its stem.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Talkative, loquacious; of writing, wordy, verbose.^[2][6][1]
2. Of birds or animals, chattering, clamorous; of water, babbling.^[2]
3. Of things normally speechless, talking; of gestures, expressive.^[2]

Word family

• loquācitās
• loquāculus
• magniloquāx
• maliloquāx
• multiloquax

Related words

• loquor
• garrulus
• English loquacious

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com