mehercule

Forms

mehercule (interjection)^[2][1] It is also found as mehercle and meherculēs, and written separately.^[2] Cicero preferred mehercule to meherculēs.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin mē + Herculēs, “by Hercules”.^[2] Festus explains it as an oath with “so may Hercules help me” understood;^[2][1] Wiktionary takes it as short for ⟨adiuva mē Hercule⟩.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest example is Plautus' Rudens, in the form ⟨mehercle⟩: “well done, by Hercules”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is an oath, “by Hercules!”, expressing surprise, annoyance or emphasis, and was normally used by men;^[2][1] Phaedrus and Seneca have it in the mouth of women.^[2][1] Cato, Cicero, Catullus, Sallust and later prose writers use it, often in negations, as Cicero's “you would not, by Hercules, have said a word”.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus.^[2][3]
• 234–149 BC – Cato.^[2][3]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero, who prefers it to meherculēs.^[2][3]

Meanings

Interjection

1. By Hercules! (an oath, chiefly of men).^[2][1]

Related words

• hercle
• ēcastor

Usage notes

The shorter hercle is the same oath without the pronoun.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de