Etymologically
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nequiter

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Forms

nēquiter (comparative nēquius, superlative nēquissimē)[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin nēquam (“worthless, bad”) + -ter.[1][2] De Vaan lists both words among the forms built on the relative and interrogative stem of quī.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has it first,[3][2] in the sense “badly, without success”: a character in the Asinaria would never do something “if you didn't rub my knees so badly”.[1]

Semantic evolution

Already in Plautus it also has the moral sense “wickedly”, of things done for love,[1] and Cato uses it of acting wickedly for pleasure.[1] Cicero describes a man who dined “badly, wickedly, shamefully”, and Livy asks whether a war was begun more wickedly or waged more rashly.[1] Pliny the Elder uses the superlative of balsam adulterated worst of all with gum, and Martial has it playfully as a term of admiration.[1]

Medieval British writers keep the sense “wickedly”, from Bede on, and a gloss renders it manfullice.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it in the senses “badly” and “wickedly”.[1][2]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it in a speech.[1][2]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a man who dined wickedly.[1][2]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses the superlative nequissime.[1][2]
  • 1201 – An English legal record says a woman's husband was “wickedly” killed.[4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Badly, inefficiently; without success.[1][5]
  2. Wickedly, villainously.[1][5][4]
  3. (playfully) As a term of admiration.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c 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
  5. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org