Etymologically
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mecum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈmeː.kũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈmɛː.kum][1]

Forms

mēcum (not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin mē (“me”) + cum1 (“with”): the ablative of ego (“I”) with the preposition placed after it.[1][2][3] The OLD notes that the preposition is regularly put after the personal pronouns, giving tēcum, sēcum, nōbīscum and vōbīscum.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is the ordinary Latin for “with me”;[2][1] the OLD's examples of cum include Livy's agite, ite mecum (“come on, go with me”).[4]

Semantic evolution

Servius comments on several of Virgil's uses: in the Aeneid (1.675) he explains mecum at 1.675 as “with Venus' help”, and at 9.284 as “for my sake”.[6]

The phrase vade mecum (“go with me”) became the English vade-mecum “handbook” in the 1620s.[7]

Timeline

  • 59 BC–AD 17 – Livy writes ite mecum, “go with me”.[4][8]
  • c. 400 AD – Servius explains mecum in Virgil.[6][8]
  • 1620s – English takes over vade mecum as the name of a pocket handbook.[7]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. With me, in my company.[2][1]
  2. With my help, on my side.[6]
  • English vade-mecum

Usage notes

Latin regularly put cum after the personal pronoun, so mecum rather than cum me.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c Servius, Commentarii in Vergilii carmina, ed. G. Thilo and H. Hagen, Leipzig 1881–1887 (Perseus Digital Library).
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de