Etymologically
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natrix

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈna.triːks], [ˈna.trɪks][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈnaː.triks][1]

Forms

natrī̆x f or m (genitive natrī̆cis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *(s)natriks, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *(s)nh₁-tr-ih₂- (“one who spins round; snake”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *(s)neh₁- (“to spin”) of neō.[2][3][1] Cognate with Old Irish nathir (“snake”), Welsh neidr (“snake”), Gothic 𐌽𐌰𐌳𐍂𐌴 (nadre, “of adders”), German Natter and English adder.[2][4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Lucilius, who uses it of the penis.[2][4] Köbler dates Lucilius c. 180–102 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a water snake, as Cicero asks why god made such a multitude of water snakes and vipers, and Lucan's natrix violātor aquae, the snake that fouls water.[4][6] Lucilius uses it obscenely of the penis, and Suetonius of a dangerous person.[4][7] Pliny the Elder names a plant natrix whose root smells of a goat.[4] Isidore of Seville says it poisons any spring it lives in.[8]

In Medieval Latin it was a snake or water snake, a blindworm, and the serpent, Satan.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius uses it.[4][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of water snakes and vipers.[4][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder names a plant natrix.[4][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A water snake.[4]
  2. The penis.[4]
  3. (figurative) A dangerous person.[7]
  4. An unidentified plant.[4]

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. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  9. ^ 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