obscure
Forms
obscūrē (comparative obscūrius, superlative obscūrissimē)[1]
Etymology
It is from Latin obscūrus (“dark, obscure”) + -ē, the adverb of the adjective.[1][2] The origin of obscūrus itself is disputed: de Vaan thinks its first meaning was darkened or covered, and finds a stem Proto-Italic *skoi-ro-, from Proto-Indo-European *skoh₂-i-ro- (“dark, shady”), more likely than other analyses, but marks the reconstruction with a query.[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler dates it from Cicero,[2] whose Academica says that we see either nothing of the things above or very dimly.[1]
Semantic evolution
Of sight and sound it means dimly or indistinctly;[1] Gellius uses it of small particles pronounced faintly.[1] Of expression it means without clear definition, as Cicero admits he has said something rather obscurely, and cryptically, so that with a negative it means in plain terms: in the first speech against Catiline he says “I will not speak darkly”.[1] Of actions it means secretly or furtively, and the phrase obscure ferre is to make a secret of something.[1] It also means without notice, and of a person's life in an undistinguished way.[1]
Timeline
- 81–43 BC – Cicero of seeing dimly, speaking obscurely and acting in secret.[1][2]
- c. 165 AD – Gellius of sounds uttered faintly.[1][2]
Meanings
Adverb
- Dimly, indistinctly; of sound, faintly.[1]
- Obscurely, without clear definition; cryptically; with a negative, in plain terms.[1]
- Secretly, furtively;[1] obscure ferre, to conceal.[1]
- Without being noticed; in an obscure station in life.[1]
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill