merus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈmɛ.rʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmɛː.rus]^[1]

Forms

merus (feminine mera, neuter merum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *mero-, perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *merH-o- (“remaining, pure”).^[2] It has traditionally been compared with Ancient Greek μαρμαίρω (marmaírō, “to flash, sparkle”), as if “pure” came from “shining”, but de Vaan sees no compelling reason for this.^[2][3][1] He prefers Puhvel's connection with Hittite marri (“just so, at random”), and takes the original sense of the root to be “remaining, core, pure”.^[2] The OLD also compares Old English āmerian (“to purify”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Plautus, of pure metal and of undiluted wine.^[3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant pure, unalloyed, of metals, and undiluted, neat, of liquids, above all wine, as in Plautus.^[3] Festus, as Paul's epitome reports, says the ancients used merum for “only”, while it now meant “pure”.^[5] From Plautus it also meant sheer, out-and-out, and in Terence nothing more than, mere; in Juvenal it meant bare, naked.^[3] Petronius has merō merīdiē “at high noon”.^[6]

Medieval Latin used merus for an allowance of neat wine.^[7] British Medieval Latin applied it to unmixed descent and to a body untouched by intercourse.^[8] It survives in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese mero, and through Old French mier and directly from Latin it gave English mere in the late 14th century.^[1][9]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of pure metal and neat wine.^[3][4]
• 190–159 BC – Terence uses it in the sense “mere”.^[3][4]
• c. 67–c. 127 AD – Juvenal uses it in the sense “bare”.^[3][4]
• late 14th century – English mere is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Pure, unalloyed.^[3]
2. Of wine, undiluted, neat.^[3]
3. Sheer, absolute, out-and-out.^[3]
4. Nothing more than, mere; bare, naked.^[3]

Word family

• merum
• submerus

Related words

• mora
• English mere

Usage notes

The neuter merum is used as a noun for unmixed wine.^[5][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com