pomposus

Forms

pompōsus (feminine pompōsa, neuter pompōsum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin pompa (“procession, pomp”) + -ōsus.^[1][2][3] pompa is from Ancient Greek πομπή (pompḗ, “a sending, solemn procession”).^[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from Pelagius and Augustine on, meaning full of pomp; it is mostly used in condemning worldly display.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is a post-classical word.^[5] Besides showy and ostentatious, it could be dignified: Sidonius Apollinaris uses it of a slow, stately gait.^[5][6] Venantius Fortunatus applies it to poems.^[5]

Medieval Latin used it for what is majestic or grand and, of style, for what is pompous and high-sounding;^[7] British writers used it of splendid ceremonies and ostentatious show.^[8] English borrowed it in the late 14th century, from Old French and directly from Late Latin.^[9]

Timeline

• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it of worldly pomp.^[2][3]
• c. 431–486 AD – Sidonius Apollinaris uses it of a dignified gait.^[5][6][3]
• 536–c. 610 AD – Venantius Fortunatus applies it to poems.^[5][3]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as pompous.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Full of pomp, ostentatious.^[2][8]
2. Stately, solemn, dignified.^[5][6]
3. (Medieval Latin) Majestic, grand.^[7]
4. (Medieval Latin, of style) Pompous, high-sounding.^[7]

Related words

• pompa
• English pompous

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ a b 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. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com