mediocriter
Forms
mediocriter (comparative mediocrius, superlative mediocrissimē)[1]
Etymology
It is from Latin mediocris (“moderate”) + -ter.[2][1] De Vaan explains mediocris as a compound of medius (“middle”) and ocris, a rare word for a hill, first meaning situated half-way up; ocris goes back to Proto-Italic *okri- (“hilltop”) and Proto-Indo-European *h₂oḱ-r-i- (“sharp edge”).[3] Cognate with Umbrian ocar (“castle, upper town”) and Ancient Greek ὄκρις (ókris, “point”).[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
De Vaan dates it from Plautus,[3] whose Mercator has it with a negative: someone has done wrong and harm “to no small extent”.[2]
Semantic evolution
It means to a moderate extent, moderately or tolerably, as Terence's young man who studied nothing exceptionally but everything moderately.[2] With a negative, nōn or haud mediocriter, it means to no small degree, exceedingly.[2] It also means in a restrained manner, with moderation, as Terence's woman found modestly dressed in mourning clothes.[2] Wiktionary adds the sense indifferently, without distinction.[1]
Timeline
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus with a negative, “exceedingly”.[2][3][4]
- 190–159 BC – Terence of moderate study and of modest dress.[2][4]
Meanings
Adverb
- To a moderate extent or degree, moderately, tolerably; indifferently.[2][1]
- With a negative, to no small extent, exceedingly.[2]
- In a restrained manner, with moderation.[2]
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ 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
- ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de