Etymologically
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neglectus

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neglectus1 neglected

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [nɛˈɡɫeːk.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [neˈɡlɛk.tus][1]

Forms

neglēctus (feminine neglēcta, neuter neglēctum, superlative neglēctissimus); first/second-declension adjective[2][3] It is also spelled neclēctus.[2]

Etymology

The adjective “neglected” is from Latin neglegō (“to disregard, neglect”), its past participle.[2][3] De Vaan explains the ⟨-e-⟩ of ⟨-legere⟩ as a sign that such compounds are fairly recent, probably formed with legō2 (“to collect”); he finds a connection with Ancient Greek ἀλέγω (alégō, “to heed”) problematic.[4] The simple verb goes back to Proto-Italic *leg-e- and Proto-Indo-European *leǵ-e/o- (“to collect”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Used as an adjective, it appears in Cicero's De finibus, which speaks of people who are of little worth and neglected among themselves (vīlēs neglēctīque).[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The OLD lists it mainly in the senses of the verb: not cared for, neglected.[2] Georges cites neglected beauty in Ovid, a neglected field in Horace and a neglected camp in Livy, and Statius has the superlative neglēctissima.[3][2] Pliny the Elder uses it of footprints made carelessly.[2]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of people held cheap and neglected.[2][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of something done carelessly.[2][5]
  • c. 45–96 AD – Statius has the superlative neglēctissima.[3][5]
  • 1520s – English borrows the participle as the verb neglect.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Not cared for, neglected, disregarded.[2][3]
  2. Carelessly made or done.[2]

neglectus2 neglect

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [nɛˈɡɫeːk.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [neˈɡlɛk.tus][1]

Forms

neglēctus m (genitive neglēctūs); fourth declension[1]

Etymology

The noun “neglect” is from Latin neglegō (“to disregard”) + -tus, a noun of action.[2][1][7] De Vaan takes the verb as a compound of legō2 (“to collect”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first known use is in Terence's Heauton timorumenos: haec rēs neutiquam neglēctuī mihi est, “I am by no means neglecting this matter”.[8][7][5]

Semantic evolution

It is a rare word beside neglēctiō and neglegentia.[8] The TLL finds it in verse only in Terence and in classical prose only in Pliny the Elder; it reappears from the 4th century AD, mostly in letters such as those of Symmachus, Ennodius and Gregory the Great, and has no plural.[7] The dative in neglēctuī habēre, to leave neglected, recurs in Church canons and later writers.[7]

Medieval British writers used it for inattention or neglect, for failure to carry out a duty, and, in neglēctuī trādere, for consigning something to oblivion.[9] Köbler records it in capitularies, Church councils, charters and legal formulae.[5]

Timeline

  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it in the dative neglēctuī.[8][7][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it in prose.[8][7][5]
  • c. 340–402 AD – Symmachus uses it in a letter.[7][5]
  • 705 – A letter of Wealdhere uses neglēctuī habēre.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The fact of taking no notice, neglect, disregard.[2][8][10]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Failure to perform a task or obligation.[9]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Oblivion resulting from neglect.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  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 f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  8. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ a b c d 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
  10. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson