Etymologically
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pius

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈpi.ʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpiː.us][1]

Forms

pius (feminine pia, neuter pium, comparative magis pius, superlative maximē pius or summē pius or piissimus or pīssimus or pientissimus or piissumus or pientissumus, adverb piē); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *pwījo-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *puH-yo- (“purifying”), from the root Proto-Indo-European *pewH- (“to purify”) of pūrus “pure”.[2][1][3] Cognate with Oscan piíhiúí (“pious (dative)”), Umbrian pihaz (“purified”) and Paelignian and Volscian forms.[2][4][5] The first syllable is short in Old Latin poetry, and the development from *puH-yo- is disputed: Schrijver and Meiser follow Thurneysen's rule of umlaut, while others posit *pwījo-.[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Ennius, and de Vaan dates it from Plautus.[6][2] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant faithful to one's moral obligations, dutiful, conscientious, upright, and of the virtuous dead blessed, as Horace's pious souls.[4] It was used of just conduct, of a just war, and above all of faithfulness to religious duties, devout, as Plautus' gods who favour the pious, and of sacred offerings, as Horace's pious offering of grain.[4] Of family it meant devoted to parents, spouse or relatives, as Plautus' chaste and loyal wife, and Cicero says the country gains from citizens dutiful to their parents.[4] Pius was an honorific cognomen, given to Quintus Metellus and to the emperor Antoninus in AD 138, and Cicero condemned the superlative piissimus as not Latin.[4]

In Christian and Medieval Latin it meant pious, holy, saintly, and devout towards God.[7][8] It survives in Italian pio and French pieux.[1] English pious was borrowed in the mid-15th century, and English piety and English pity come from pietās.[3]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it.[6]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of the devout and of a loyal wife.[4][6]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of dutiful citizens.[4][6]
  • 138 AD – Antoninus receives the cognomen Pius.[4]
  • mid-15th century – English pious is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Dutiful, conscientious, upright.[4]
  2. Righteous, just (of conduct, war).[4]
  3. Devout, pious.[4]
  4. Devoted (to parents, spouse, family), loyal.[4]
  5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Holy, saintly.[7]

Word family

  • impius
  • pietās
  • piō
  • piē
  • pūrus
  • English pious
  • English pity

Usage notes

As a name, Pius was the cognomen of the emperor Antoninus and later emperors.[4][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.