procerus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [proːˈkeː.rʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [proˈt͡ʃɛː.rus]^[1]

Forms

prōcērus (feminine prōcēra, neuter prōcērum, comparative prōcērior); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin prō- + *cērus, with a second part *k(r)ēro- “growing”, from the root of crēscō “to grow”, so “having grown up high”; de Vaan thinks a dissimilated *prō-krēros possible.^[2][3][4] Schrijver doubted the link with crēscō, and Rieken compared Hieroglyphic Luwian *zīra- “growth” and sincērus “of one growth, pure”.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Ennius, whose woodcutters bring down tall pines.^[2][5][3] Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant grown to a great height, tall or lofty, as Cicero's very tall poplars by a river, and of people tall, as Pliny's tall figure.^[3][6] It also meant long, as Turpilius' long arms and Cicero's long neck.^[3][6] In rhetoric Cicero speaks of a long, drawn-out style.^[7]

Döderlein says altus is height as a measure, prōcērus height as grown.^[8] Its noun prōcēritās gave English procerity “tallness” in the 1540s.^[9]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius speaks of tall pines.^[3][5]
• 2nd century BC – Turpilius speaks of long arms.^[3][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of very tall poplars.^[3][5]
• 1540s – English procerity is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Tall, lofty.^[3]
2. Long.^[3]

Word family

• imprōcērus
• prōcēritās
• prōcēritūdō
• prōcērulus
• prōcērē

Related words

• crēscō
• sincērus
• altus
• English procerity

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes altus (high, as a dimension), excelsus (rising above others), celsus (towering) and prōcērus (tall, of growth).^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com