praevalens

Forms

praevalēns (genitive praevalentis); third-declension one-termination adjective^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin prae- + valēns (“strong”),^[1][3] and is also taken as the present participle of praevaleō (“to be very strong; to prevail”).^[4][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lewis's dictionary quotes it from Livy, of a very strong young man and of a powerful people.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Velleius Paterculus calls a man corpore praevalēns, “of outstanding bodily strength”,^[5][6] and Pliny the Elder uses it figuratively.^[6][7] Valerius Maximus has sēnsū praevalēns sententia, “a saying weighty in sense”.^[5]

Timeline

• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of a strong young man and a powerful people.^[2][5][8]
• c. 20 BC–30 AD – Velleius Paterculus uses it of bodily strength.^[5][6][8]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it figuratively.^[6][8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Outstandingly strong or powerful, mighty.^[1][2][6]
2. (figurative) Weighty, very effective.^[5]

Related words

• praevaleō
• valēns
• English prevalent

References

1. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T. (1890), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: American Book Company
3. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
4. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ VoLat: Vocabolario della Lingua Latina (2018), Milan: Hoepli
8. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de