perquam

Forms

perquam (not comparable)^[1] It is also written separately, per quam.^[2] Lucretius places it after the word it modifies.^[3]

Etymology

It is from Latin per- (“very”) + quam (“how, as”).^[3][1] The TLL, after Leumann, takes ⟨-quam⟩ in the sense in some way, as in quisquam (“anyone”), but notes that others explain it differently.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Plautus,^[5] whose Bacchides has “you know their ways extremely well”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It means in a very high degree, exceedingly, extremely, as Plautus' “in an utterly unworthy way” and Cicero's “very briefly”.^[3][2] Döderlein explains that it marks an extraordinary degree with a note of astonishment on the speaker's part, whereas valdē, admodum and multum are a plain intensifying.^[6] Church Latin glosses it as much as possible, extremely.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of knowing someone's ways extremely well.^[2][5]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius places it after its word.^[3][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of speaking very briefly.^[2][5]

Meanings

Adverb

1. In a very high degree, exceedingly, extremely.^[3][2][7][1]

Related words

• valdē

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e 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 d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson