nitor

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈniː.tɔr]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈniː.tor]^[1]

Forms

nītor (present infinitive nītī, perfect active nīsus sum or nīxus sum); third conjugation, deponent^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kniχw-et-, of uncertain origin.^[2][1] The participle nīxus points to a root ending in a velar, so de Vaan, like Walde and Hofmann and Pokorny, prefers a link with cōnīveō “to close the eyes” and nictō “to wink”, from *kneigʷʰ- “to bend, lean”.^[2][3] The old forms gnītor and gnīxus reported by Festus would then keep the original initial cluster.^[2][4] The comparison with Sanskrit यतते (yátate, “puts in place”) is unfounded, since the original meaning, “to lean” or “to press”, is unclear.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus.^[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant to rest one's weight on, lean on, as Cicero's praetor in slippers leaning on a woman, and of things to be supported by, stand on.^[3] From there it meant to rely on, and of cases and arguments to rest or depend on.^[3] Its other branch meant to make violent physical efforts, to strain, to struggle onwards or upwards, and to strive or exert oneself, as Plautus' lover who will strive and give up his life rather than desert the girls.^[3] The participle nīxus was used mostly in the senses “leaning”, nīsus in the senses “striving”.^[3] Döderlein contrasts it with fulciō: fulcīrī is to prop oneself so as not to fall, nītī to press on something so as to climb or move forward.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of striving.^[3][5]
• 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of straining.^[3][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero describes a praetor leaning on a woman.^[3][5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To lean on, rest one's weight on, (of things) to be supported by.^[3]
2. To rely on, (of arguments) to rest on, depend on.^[3]
3. To strain, struggle; to make one's way with effort.^[3]
4. To strive, exert oneself.^[3]

Word family

• adnītor
• connītor
• ēnītor
• innītor
• nīsus
• nītēdula
• nītibundus
• nīxor
• nixuriō
• obnītor
• renītor
• subnīxus

Related words

• nitēns
• nitenter
• niteō
• nitēscō
• nitidē
• nitiditās
• nitidiusculē
• nitidiusculus
• nitidō
• nitidulus
• cōnīveō
• nictō

Usage notes

It is distinct from the noun nitor, nitōris “brightness, sheen, elegance”, from niteō “to shine”, which Lucretius uses of the first light of dawn.^[4][7][1] In Medieval Latin the noun also meant neatness or cleanness.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill