Etymologically
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posterus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈpɔs.tɛ.rʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈpɔs.te.rus][1]

Forms

posterus (feminine postera, neuter posterum, comparative posterior, superlative postrēmus or postumus); first/second-declension adjective[1] The masculine nominative singular is not in use.[2] Tacitus has a genitive plural posterum.[3]

Etymology

It is the old comparative of post (“after, behind”), inherited from Proto-Italic *post-ero- (“later”), from Proto-Indo-European *pos (“after”), extended with ⟨*-ti⟩.[4][1] Sabellic has matching forms, such as Oscan pústiris (“later”).[4] The comparative posterior is a later formation built on it, and the superlative postrēmus continues ⟨*poster-isamo-⟩.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from the Twelve Tables.[5] The historian Sisenna has posterō diē, “on the next day”.[3]

Semantic evolution

Posterus is “coming after, future, later” (Lucretius: posteră saecla, “later ages”, Horace: usque ego posterā crēscam laude, “I shall grow ever fresh in the praise of later ages”), and “next, following”, as in posterō diē and posterō annō.[3][2][1] In the masculine plural posterī are descendants, posterity (Plautus: honōrī posterōrum tuōrum, “for the honour of your descendants”).[3][6] In posterum is “for the future”.[6]

Wiktionary gives a Late Latin sense “inferior”.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 450 BC – In the Twelve Tables.[5]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: honōrī posterōrum tuōrum.[3][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius: posteră saecla.[3][5]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace: posterā … laude.[3][5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Coming after, future, later.[3][2][1][6]
  2. Next, following.[3][1][6]
  3. in posterum: for the future.[6]
  4. (Late Latin) inferior.[1]

Noun

  1. posterī (plural): descendants, posterity.[3][6]

Word family

  • posterī
  • posteritās
  • posterula
  • postrīdiē
  • postrīduō
  • praeposterus
  • posterius

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson