Etymologically
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nugatorius

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [nuː.ɡaːˈtoː.ri.ʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [nu.ɡaˈtɔː.ri.us][1]

Forms

nūgātōrius (feminine nūgātōria, neuter nūgātōrium); first/second-declension adjective[1] Old Latin has ⟨naugātōrius⟩.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin nūgātor (“trifler, jester”) + -ius,[1][4][2] while the OLD analyses it as nūgor (“to trifle”) with the suffix ⟨-tōrius⟩.[5] Both go back to nūgae (“trifles, nonsense”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *knūg-.[6] He finds no Indo-European etymology; since words for trifles are sometimes made from words for nuts, a link with nux (“nut”) is quite likely, and the differences of vowel length and consonant suggest a foreign loanword.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,[6][3] whose Trinummus has a man hired for three coins ad artis nugatorias, for tricks of storytelling.[5][7]

Semantic evolution

Its main sense is futile or absurd, of statements and arguments:[5][4] the Rhetorica ad Herennium calls one kind of argument futile, Cicero speaks of a bad and futile accusation, and a letter of Brutus and Cassius calls a point light and futile.[5] Varro uses it of a worthless ointment and of worthless Ligurian oxen.[5][4] Of persons it meant frivolous, not serious: Seneca reports that people call a man trifling and idle, and Ulpian speaks of a slave who wanders off and wastes his time on trifles.[5] It could also mean paltry, as when Seneca calls human bodies trifling and feeble.[5] The adverb nugatorie appears in the Rhetorica ad Herennium.[4]

Augustine uses it of opinions and songs and of a trifling kind of gods.[2][4] In British medieval Latin it meant trifling or superfluous, talking nonsense, untrue, and in logic meaningless.[8] English took it as nugatory about 1600.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of storytelling tricks.[5][3]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of worthless oxen.[5][3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a futile accusation.[5][3]
  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of a frivolous man.[5][3]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it of a trifling kind of gods.[4][3]
  • c. 1155 – Peter of Blois uses it of youth spent on trifles.[8]
  • c. 1600 – English borrows it as nugatory.[9]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of arguments and statements: futile, absurd.[5][4]
  2. Romancing, given to storytelling.[5]
  3. Worthless, good for nothing.[5][4]
  4. Not serious, frivolous; as a noun, a worthless fellow.[5][4]
  5. Paltry, insignificant.[5]
  6. (Medieval Latin) Untrue; in logic, meaningless.[8]
  • nūgācitās
  • nūgae
  • nūgālis
  • nūgāmenta
  • nūgātor
  • nūgātrix
  • nūgax
  • English nugatory

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com