Etymologically
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mons

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈmõːs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmɔns][1]

Forms

mōns m (genitive montis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *monti-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *mon-ti- (“protrusion, height”), from the root *men- (“to project, tower”), also seen in ēmineō and mentum “chin”.[2][1][3] De Vaan notes that the o-grade is unexpected.[2]

Cognate with Welsh mynydd (“mountain”), Avestan maiti- (“mountain, height”) and Old Norse mœnir (“ridge of a roof”).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Naevius onwards,[2][4] and Ennius writes of “steep mountains standing in the way”.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant a mountain or hill, and in the plural the hill country, as against the plain.[3] It also meant a towering heap, as Cicero's “mountain” of building at Tusculum, and in the phrase montes et maria polliceri, “to promise mountains and seas”.[3][5] Poets used it for a huge rock.[3]

Medieval Latin used it for a mining area, and da monte meant “on the northern side”, towards the Alps.[6] It survives in all the Romance languages, as Romanian munte, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese monte and French mont.[7][1] English mountain came from Old French about 1200.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.[2][4]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of steep mountains.[3][4]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it for the foot of a mountain and for the hill country.[3][4]
  • 86–34 BC – Sallust uses montes et maria polliceri.[5][4]
  • c. 1200 – English mountain is first recorded.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A mountain, hill.[3][9]
  2. (plural) The hill country.[3]
  3. A towering heap, mass; a great quantity.[3][1]
  4. (poetic) A huge rock.[3][1]
  5. (Medieval Latin) A mining area.[6]

Word family

  • montānus
  • montensis
  • monticellus
  • monticola
  • monticulus
  • montifer
  • montivagus
  • montuōsus
  • montāna
  • mentum
  • minae
  • prōmunturium
  • English mount
  • English mountain
  • English promontory

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes mons, a mountain seen in its height, from iugum, a ridge seen in its length and breadth.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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 e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper