Etymologically
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neque

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈnɛ.kʷɛ][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈnɛː.kʷe][1]

Forms

neque (not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *nekʷe (“and not”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *nékʷe (“and not, nor”), from *ne (“not”) and *-kʷe (“and”); the Latin word is ne- + -que.[2][1][3] The TLL notes that the second part of the simple negative could also be the particle of hic.[4]

Cognate with Oscan nep and Umbrian neip, Old Irish nach and Gothic 𐌽𐌹𐌷 (nih).[2][3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in the Twelve Tables and in Livius Andronicus.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In the oldest Latin neque (mostly as nec) could be a simple “not”, which later survived only in a few set phrases and compounds.[3] The usual senses are “and not”, “nor”, “not … either” and “not even”;[3][6] neque … neque means “neither … nor”, and neque enim “for … not”.[3][6] Combined with tamen it means “and yet … not”.[3]

The choice between neque and nec was often a matter of sound, but nec became more common and prevailed in colloquial writers such as Petronius.[3] Lewis & Short note that nec stands before vowels too in classical prose.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 450 BC – Used in the Twelve Tables.[5]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: id quod neque est neque fuit neque futūrum est.[3][5]
  • before AD 66 – Petronius prefers the short form nec.[3][5]

Meanings

Conjunction

  1. And not, nor.[3][6]
  2. neque … neque, neither … nor.[3][6]
  3. Not … either; not even.[3]
  4. And yet … not, but … not.[3]
  5. (archaic) Not.[3]
  6. neque enim, for … not;[3] neque tamen, and yet … not.[3]

Word family

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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press