ocris

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈɔ.krɪs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈɔː.kris]^[1]

Forms

ocris m (genitive ocris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *okri- (“hilltop”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂oḱ-r-i- (“sharp edge”).^[2][1] Italic cognates include Umbrian ocar (“hill, citadel”) and Marrucinian ⟨ocres⟩; further cognates are Ancient Greek ὄκρις (ókris, “jagged point”), Old High German ecka (“edge”) and Sanskrit अश्रि (áśri, “corner, edge”).^[2][1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Livius Andronicus.^[2][5] Köbler dates Livius Andronicus 280/260–before 200 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a rugged, stony mountain, and Lewis & Short call it ante-classical, citing Festus, who says the ancients called a mountain ocris.^[3][6][7] De Vaan notes that it is found only a few times as an independent word, apparently ousted by collis, but survives in mediocris, originally “situated at the middle, halfway to the top”.^[2]

Timeline

• 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses it.^[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A rugged, stony mountain.^[3][6]

Related words

• mediocris
• ācer
• aciēs

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.