nudius

Forms

nū̆diū̆s (not comparable)^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of ⟨nu-⟩, the element of nunc (“now”), and ⟨dius⟩, an old form of diēs (“day”), so “it is now the … day”.^[2][3][4] Wiktionary traces the first part to Proto-Indo-European *nu (“now”), which is also in num and nūper (“lately”), and notes that the length of its vowel is uncertain.^[1] De Vaan suspects that the ⟨dius⟩ here, as in mediusfidius, may be the old nominative singular of the word for “day”, from Proto-Indo-European *dii̯ēus, with /eu/ becoming /ū/;^[5] Wiktionary likewise takes it as the original nominative, later remodelled on the accusative.^[1]

Festus, as abridged by Paulus, explained ⟨nudius tertius⟩ as compounded of ⟨nunc⟩ and ⟨die tertio⟩.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus on,^[6] always with an ordinal number: a character in the Truculentus says “I came to Athens from Lemnos the day before yesterday” (nam ego Lemno advenio Athenas nudius tertius).^[3]

Semantic evolution

Plautus has it with several ordinals, from tertius to sextus;^[3][4] Cicero writes nudius tertius in his letters and nudius tertius decimus in the Philippics.^[3][7] The Vulgate has it in the Acts of the Apostles.^[3] From it Ambrose and Augustine made the adjective nudiustertiānus “of the day before yesterday”.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses nudius tertius, quartus, quintus and sextus.^[3][4][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero writes that he sent a longer letter nudius tertius.^[3][6]
• c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose has the derived adjective nudiustertiānus.^[7][6]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it in the Acts of the Apostles.^[3][6]

Meanings

Adverb

1. (with an ordinal number) It is now the … day since: nudius tertius “three days ago” by Roman counting, that is the day before yesterday;^[2][3][7] nudius quintus “four days ago”.^[2][3][7]

Word family

• nū̆diū̆stertiānus

Usage notes

Romans counted inclusively, so nudius tertius means the day before yesterday.^[2][3] The phrase is also written as one word, nudiustertius.^[2][5]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.