Etymologically
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navis

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈnaː.wɪs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈnaː.vis][1]

Forms

nāvis f (genitive nāvis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *nau- (“ship”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *neh₂-u- (“ship”), probably “the floating one”, from the root of “to swim”, as in nō.[2][1][3] Cognate with Old Irish nau (“ship”), Sanskrit नौ (náu, “ship”), Ancient Greek ναῦς (naûs, “ship”) and Old Norse nór (“ship”).[2][4] The long vowel of the oblique forms, *nāwV-, spread to the whole paradigm.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Livius Andronicus,[2][5] who has people carrying gifts to the ships.[4] Köbler places his career before 200 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It was a ship, as in Ennius' nāvēs vēlivolae “sail-winged ships”, with phrases such as nāvis longa “warship” and nāvis onerāria “merchant ship”.[4][6] In astronomy it was the constellation Argo.[4]

Döderlein contrasts nāvigium, the general word for a vessel, with nāvis, a ship for long voyages.[7] In medieval Latin it was a vault, the nave of a church, a gutter, and an incense boat.[8] English nave (1670s) is from the church sense.[9] Its derivative nāvālis gave English naval, and nāvigia “vessels” gave Old French navie and English navy.[9]

Timeline

  • before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus speaks of carrying gifts to the ships.[4][5]
  • 204–169 BC – Ennius has nāvēs vēlivolae.[4][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the constellation Argo.[4][5]
  • 1670s – English nave is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A ship, nāvis longa, a warship.[4][6]
  2. The constellation Argo.[4]
  3. (Medieval Latin) The nave of a church; a vault.[8]
  4. (Medieval Latin) An incense boat; a gutter.[8]

Word family

  • nāvālis
  • nāvia
  • nāvicella
  • nāvicula
  • nāviculāris
  • nāviculārius
  • nāviculor
  • nāvifragus
  • nāvigābilis
  • nāvigātiō
  • nāvigātor
  • nāviger
  • nauta
  • English naval
  • English navy
  • English nave

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  8. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com