Etymologically
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penes

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈpɛ.nɛs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈpɛː.nes][1]

Forms

penes (+ accusative)[1]

Etymology

It is probably inherited from Proto-Italic *penets, from Proto-Indo-European *pen-et-s (“food”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *pen- (“to feed”).[1][2][3] De Vaan explains it with penitus (“from within”) and penetrō (“to penetrate”) as forms of a stem meaning “food”, then “stock”, then “the inside of the house”: the usual view that it is an old locative without ending of the noun penus (“store of food”) runs into the unexpected ending ⟨-es⟩.[2][4] The root is that of Lithuanian penė́ti (“to feed”).[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan gives Plautus as its first author.[2] In the Trinummus someone says thēnsaurum tuom mē esse penes, “that your treasure is in my keeping”.[5]

Semantic evolution

It takes the accusative, usually of persons, and often follows its noun.[5][6] It means in the keeping or possession of someone, at someone's house, and then under the control of: Plautus has Jupiter, in whose power are the hopes of all men.[5] Horace's penes sē esse is to be in one's right mind.[5] It marks the person to whom blame or credit belongs (Terence: the fault lies with you) and, in Tacitus, “among, on the part of”.[5]

Church Latin glosses it “with, in the possession or power of, in the presence of”.[7] Medieval Latin also uses it for “in the eyes of”, “before, in the presence of”, “in” and “as regards”, and British writers for keeping something to oneself.[8][9]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of possession and of power.[2][5][3]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence of blame belonging to someone.[5][3]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace of being in one's right mind.[5][3]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus in the sense “among”.[5][3]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. In the possession or keeping of; at the house of.[5][1][7]
  2. Under the control of, in the power of.[5][1]
  3. Resting with (of blame, praise or responsibility).[5]
  4. Among, on the part of.[5]
  5. (Medieval Latin) In the eyes of; before, in the presence of; as regards.[8]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ 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