podex
This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 16 October 2026 at 19:23. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Pronunciation
Forms
pōdex m (genitive pōdicis); third declension[1]
Etymology
It is an ablaut formation from Proto-Indo-European *pesd- (“to fart”), the root of pēdō “to break wind”, with a stem ⟨*pozd-⟩: “the one that farts”.[1][2][3] De Vaan traces ⟨pēdō⟩ to Proto-Italic *pezd-e/o-.[4] The OLD compares Ancient Greek πέρδομαι (pérdomai, “to break wind”).[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
Köbler's earliest source is Lucilius, whom he dates c. 180–102 BC.[5]
Semantic evolution
It was the anus, the fundament, as in Horace and Juvenal.[3][6][7]
British Medieval Latin glossaries used it for the anus, with clūnēs and cūlus.[8] German Podex is from it.[5]
Timeline
- c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius uses it.[5]
- 65–8 BC – Horace uses it.[6][5]
- c. 67–c. 127 AD – Juvenal uses it.[6][5]
Meanings
Noun
- The anus, fundament.[3]
Related words
- pēdō
- cūlus
References
- ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
- ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
- ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ 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