neglegens

Forms

neglegēns (genitive neglegentis, comparative neglegentior, superlative neglegentissimus); third-declension one-termination adjective^[1] It is also spelled nec-.^[1]

Etymology

It is the present participle of neglegō (“to neglect”), used as an adjective.^[1][2][3] De Vaan takes the verb as a fairly recent compound of legō (“to gather”), which goes back to Proto-Italic *leg-e- and Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- (“to collect”); a link with Ancient Greek ἀλέγω (alégō, “to heed”) is problematic.^[4] Cognate with Ancient Greek λέγω (légō, “to gather, count, speak”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first example in the OLD is Terence's “if he sees that you take it calmly, you will make him careless”.^[1]

Semantic evolution

It means careless, heedless or neglectful, of persons, and of actions and things careless, slovenly or untidy, as in Quintilian's “none of us should ever speak carelessly”.^[1] With a genitive it is not distinguishing between things, as in Tacitus' “making no difference between friends and enemies”.^[1] Petronius uses it for “neglected”, of the sweat of unwashed armpits.^[1]

Timeline

• 190–159 BC – Terence of a careless man.^[1][3]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero.^[3]
• before 66 AD – Petronius in the sense “neglected”.^[1][3]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian of careless speech.^[1][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Careless, heedless, negligent; slovenly, untidy.^[1][2]
2. Not distinguishing between.^[1]
3. Neglected.^[1]

Related words

• neglegō
• neglegentia
• legō

References

1. ^ 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
2. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill