noster

Forms

noster (feminine nostra, neuter nostrum); first/second-declension determiner (nominative masculine singular in -er), with locative^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *nosteros (“our”), formed from nōs with the contrastive suffix ⟨*-tero-⟩.^[2][1][3] De Vaan tentatively reconstructs a PIE possessive *n̥s-tero-.^[2]

Compare Ancient Greek ἡμέτερος (hēméteros, “our”), formed with the same suffix, and Old Irish ar n- (“our”).^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Livius Andronicus on.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Besides “our, ours”, noster is often used for “my” in formal or modest style.^[3] Slaves use it of their own household (senex noster “our old master”), it marks affection with the name of a friend (Varrō noster “our dear Varro”), and it means “of our side, of our army”.^[3]

The genitive plural nostrum is used by Plautus, and the noun nostrās “native, of our country” is derived from it.^[3][2]

Timeline

• c. 280–200 BC – First found in Livius Andronicus.^[2][4]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses nostrās … legiōnēs of an army.^[3][4]
• c. 50 BC – Caesar speaks of mīlitēs nostrī.^[3][4]

Meanings

Determiner

1. our, ours.^[3][5]
2. My (in formal or modest style).^[3]
3. Of our household or family.^[3]
4. Our dear (with the name of a friend or relative).^[3]
5. Of our side, of our army.^[3]

Word family

• nostrās
• nostrātim

Related words

• nōs
• vester
• meus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press