pollens

Forms

pollēns (genitive pollentis; comparative pollentior, superlative pollentissimus); third-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

Used as an adjective, it is the present participle from Latin polleō (“to be strong”).^[1][2][3] De Vaan accepts McCone's and Rix's derivation of polleō from Proto-Italic *polnē- (“to be full”), the nasal present Proto-Indo-European *pl̥-n-eh₁- (“to fill”), with a shift from full to strong; he calls it phonetically impeccable.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Naevius.^[3] In the OLD's earliest quotation Naevius calls Apollo strong with his arrows.^[1]

Semantic evolution

It is powerful or strong, of persons and faculties, and of substances potent: Lucretius calls air more mobile and stronger.^[1] Pliny the Elder uses the superlative of the commonest and most important kinds of grain.^[1] The TLL treats it and the adverb ⟨pollenter⟩ under polleō.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 235–200 BC – Naevius of Apollo strong with arrows.^[1][3]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius of potent air.^[1][3]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder of the most important grains.^[1][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Powerful, strong; of substances, potent.^[1][2][6]
2. Important.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org