nubo

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈnuː.boː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈnuː.bo]^[1]

Forms

nūbō (present infinitive nūbere, perfect active nūpsī, supine nū̆ptum); third conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is from Proto-Italic *(s)nūbe/o-, of uncertain origin.^[2] The long ō of cōnūbium “marriage” is taken to prove an initial *sn-.^[2] It has been compared with Old Church Slavonic съноубити (snubiti, “to court, love”), but Ernout and Meillet object that the Slavic verb is said of a man seeking a bride, not of a woman marrying.^[2][1] They and the OLD prefer to connect it with nūbēs “cloud” and obnūbō “to veil”, so that it would mean “to take the veil”, which is attractive but not provable.^[2][3] A connection with Greek νύμφη “bride” must be dismissed, according to de Vaan.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Naevius.^[2] In Plautus a father tells his daughter that with such a dowry she could marry even a beggar.^[3] Köbler dates Naevius c. 235–200 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It was said of a woman getting married, with the dative of the husband: nūbere alicui.^[3] It was used more rarely of couples and of men.^[3] Poets used it of vines “wedded” to a tree.^[3] Donatus and Arnobius give it the sense “to veil”.^[5]

Its participle nūpta was a bride or wife, and nūptiae a wedding.^[1] nūptiālis gave English nuptial in the late 15th century, nūbilis gave English nubile in the 1640s, and cōnūbiālis gave English connubial in the 1650s.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.^[2][4]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus says a girl could marry even a beggar.^[3][4]
• late 15th century – English nuptial is recorded.^[6]
• 1640s – English nubile is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. (of a woman) To marry, get married (to).^[3]
2. (of a couple) To marry each other.^[3]
3. (of a man) To be married.^[3]
4. (of vines) To be wedded (to a tree).^[3]
5. (Late Latin) To veil.^[5]

Word family

• binūbus
• cōnū̆bium
• dēnūbō
• ēnūbō
• innūbō
• innū̆ptus
• nūbilis
• nū̆pta
• nū̆ptiae
• nupto
• nū̆pturiō
• nū̆ptus

Related words

• nūbēs
• English nuptial
• English nubile

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com