molliculus

Forms

molliculus (feminine mollicula, neuter molliculum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin mollis (“soft”) + -culus, a diminutive.^[2][1][3] De Vaan derives the adjective from an older u-stem, going back to Proto-Italic *moldu- and Proto-Indo-European *ml̥d-u- (“soft”).^[4] Cognate with Sanskrit मृदु (mr̥du-, “delicate, soft”) and Welsh blydd (“soft”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus.^[4][5] In the Casina someone is told to buy soft little delicacies, molliculas escas, as soft as she herself is, and in the Poenulus it is a term of endearment, meus molliculus caseus, “my soft little cheese”.^[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

From “soft, tender” it came to mean “somewhat effeminate”.^[2][3] Catullus answers those who thought him unchaste because his little verses are molliculi.^[2][7] Ambrose writes that nothing soft and broken attains praise, Charisius quotes it of a youth speaking effeminately, and Ammianus of a man soft and sickly in appearance, but bold and brave.^[3][6] In British medieval Latin it meant “somewhat soft”, and as a noun a tender little one.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of soft food and as an endearment.^[2][5]
• 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus calls his verses molliculi.^[2][5]
• c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it of what is soft and weak.^[3][5]
• c. 390 AD – Ammianus uses it of a man soft in appearance.^[3][5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Soft, tender, delicate; also as a term of endearment.^[2][6][9]
2. Somewhat unmanly, effeminate.^[2][3]
3. (Medieval Latin, as a noun) A tender little one.^[8]

Related words

• ēmolliō
• mollēscō
• mollicellus
• mollicomus
• mollificō
• molliō
• mollis

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b 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. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.