Etymologically
Log in

olim

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 21:37. This address is a permanent link to this version.
← Previous version Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈoː.lĩː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈɔː.lim][1]

Forms

ōlim (not comparable)[1] Petronius has ōlim ōliōrum, apparently a comic jingle.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from the stem of olle (also ⟨ollus⟩), an archaic form of ille (“that”), with the locative ending -im; it meant “at that time”.[2][3][1] Köbler compares the root Proto-Indo-European *al- (“beyond”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Ennius.[4] Plautus has illam minīs ōlim decem puellam parvolam ēmī, “I once bought her as a little girl for ten minae”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Ōlim is “formerly, in the past” as opposed to now, and in telling a story “once (upon a time)”.[2][3][1] With iam it means “for a long time past”, often with a present tense (Novius: ōlim exspectāta veniunt septem Sāturnālia, “the long-awaited seven days of the Saturnalia are coming”), and nōn ōlim is “only recently”.[2] Looking forward it is “one day, at some future time”, chiefly in poetry and letters (Cicero: “if only we could talk face to face one day rather than by letter!”).[2][1] In similes it is “on occasion, sometimes”.[2][1]

Church Latin glosses it “formerly, once upon a time, at times, long ago, for a long while”.[5]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it.[4]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: ōlim … puellam parvolam ēmī.[2][4]
  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius uses it in a simile, “sometimes”.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the future.[2][4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. formerly, once, in the past.[2][3][1][5]
  2. Once upon a time (in stories).[2][1][5]
  3. ōlim (iam): for a long time past; long ago.[2][5]
  4. One day, at some future time.[2][1]
  5. Sometimes, on occasion.[2][1][5]

Word family

  • ōlitānus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson