peraeque

Forms

peraequē (not comparable)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin per- + aequē (“equally”).^[2][3][4] The adverb aequē comes from aequus (“level, equal”), for which de Vaan reconstructs a form ⟨*aikwos⟩ but finds no convincing etymology.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from Cicero on,^[3] who uses it of things that are the same throughout: in the Verrines he tells the jurors they will find the same state of affairs peraequē in omnī agrō decumānō, in every district paying the tithe.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

It means to the same extent throughout, equally, and with omnēs all alike: Cicero says that very few have excelled peraequē in all three styles of speaking.^[2][8] The TLL notes that in verse it occurs only twice;^[3] Catullus and Propertius use it, Propertius in the sense “invariably”.^[6][2]

Varro and Cornelius Nepos use it of reckoning so as to make things even, that is on average: Nepos says that Atticus spent three thousand sesterces a month peraequē.^[2][6] In the Medieval Latin of Britain it meant equally in every respect.^[9]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of an average yield of honey.^[2][7]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of things the same throughout.^[3][4]
• 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus uses it in verse.^[6][4]
• c. 100–24 BC – Cornelius Nepos uses it of an average monthly expense.^[6][4]

Meanings

Adverb

1. To the same extent throughout, uniformly, equally; with omnēs, all alike.^[2][8]
2. Alike in all cases, invariably.^[2]
3. So as to make things even, on average.^[2][6]

Related words

• aequē
• aequus
• adaequē

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e f Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
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