Etymologically
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perangustus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [pɛ.raŋˈɡʊs.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [pe.raŋˈɡus.tus][1]

Forms

perangustus (feminine perangusta, neuter perangustum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin per- (“very”) + angustus (“narrow”).[2][3][1] De Vaan lists angustus among the derivatives of angō (“to squeeze”); it goes back to Proto-Italic *angosto- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂emǵʰ-os-to- (“characterized by narrowness”), built on an s-stem noun for narrowness.[4] He compares Old High German angust (“fear”) and Ancient Greek ἄγχω (ánkhō, “to squeeze, strangle”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,[5] whose speeches against Verres speak of the very narrow Sicilian strait that divides the laws of slavery from those of freedom.[3][6]

Semantic evolution

It means very narrow, usually of width:[2][3] Caesar has a single, very narrow approach, Livy a path, and Curtius an approach and a footpath.[6][7] Lewis and Short count it as a word of good prose.[6] Justin applies it to the narrow borders of Macedonia.[6][3] Cicero also uses the adverb perangustē, very narrowly.[6]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the strait of Sicily.[6][5]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of a narrow approach.[6][5]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of a path.[6][5]
  • 1st century AD – Curtius uses it of a footpath.[6][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Very narrow.[2][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c 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 de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier