phosphorus

Forms

phōsphorus m (genitive phōsphorī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek φωσφόρος (phōsphóros, “light-bearing”),^[1][2] the Greek name of the morning star.^[3][4] The Greek word is made of φῶς (phôs, “light”) and -φόρος (-phóros, “bearing”),^[5][6] and Köbler traces the first part to Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to shine”).^[2] Victionarium glosses it with the native lūcifer.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first author to use it is Martial,^[2] who calls on the morning star: Phosphore, redde diem (“Morning star, bring back the day”).^[3][4][7]

Semantic evolution

In Classical and Late Latin it was a proper name, the morning star, the planet Venus as it rises before the Sun;^[3][7] Martianus Capella and Terentianus Maurus also use it,^[4] and an inscription gives it as a name of Harpocrates.^[3] Prudentius has the adjective Phosphoreus, “of the morning star”.^[8]

Medieval writers kept the name for the morning star^[9][10] and also used phosphorus as an adjective, “bearing light”; the NGML quotes the glossary of Papias, who explains it as the Greek for lucifer.^[11] In New Latin it became the name of the chemical element phosphorus.^[1][5] English took the Latin word in the 1640s for a substance that shines of itself, and as the name of the element from 1680.^[6]

Timeline

• 40–102/103 AD – Martial addresses the morning star as Phosphorus.^[3][2]
• 5th century AD – Martianus Capella uses the name.^[4][2]
• end of the 10th century – Froumund uses fosforus as an adjective, “light-bearing”.^[11][2]
• 1640s – Borrowed into English for a substance that shines in the dark.^[6]
• 1680 – The English word is recorded as the name of the chemical element.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (as a proper name) The morning star, the planet Venus seen before sunrise.^[3][4][7]
2. (Medieval Latin, as an adjective) Light-bearing.^[11]
3. (New Latin, chemistry) Phosphorus.^[1][5]

Related words

• lucifer
• English phosphorus

Usage notes

Medieval manuscripts also spell it fosforus and phosforus.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c d Victionarium (Latin Wiktionary), la.wiktionary.org
6. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
9. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ 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
11. ^ a b c d Novum Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis ab anno DCCC usque ad annum MCC (1957–), Copenhagen / Geneva / Paris: Union Académique Internationale; IRHT