Etymologically
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profundum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [prɔˈfʊn.dũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [proˈfun.dum][1]

Forms

profundum n (genitive profundī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is the neuter of profundus (“deep”), used as a noun.[2][1] The adjective is formed from prō (“forth”) and fundus (“bottom”).[1][3] De Vaan traces ⟨fundus⟩ to Proto-Italic *fundo- and Proto-Indo-European *bʰudʰ-n-ó- (“bottom”), cognate with Sanskrit बुध्न (budhná-, “bottom, root”), Ancient Greek πυθμήν (puthmḗn, “bottom”) and Old English botem (“bottom”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest example is a tragedy of Accius, in which Triton raises a rock from the depths.[2] Köbler's first source is Cicero.[5]

Semantic evolution

It is the deep water of a river or sea, and without qualification “the deep, the ocean”: Cicero asks whether a cross was torn down and thrown into the sea.[2] It is also any deep hollow or abyss, the depths of the earth, the remotest part of a region (Pliny's “depths of the world”), and a boundless expanse of space.[2] The jurists say that things lost without trace are in profundō.[2] Figuratively it is the depth of misfortune or vice, as Marius cast into the depths of utter misery in Valerius Maximus, and the inmost secrets of nature.[2]

Timeline

  • 170–c. 90 BC – Accius of the depths of the sea.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the deep sea.[2][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder of the remotest parts of the world.[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Deep water; the deep, the ocean; the depths of a body of water.[2][1]
  2. A deep cavity, abyss; the depths of the earth.[2][1]
  3. The remotest part of a region;[2] in profundō esse, to be lost without trace.[2]
  4. A boundless expanse of space.[2][1]
  5. (plural) The inmost secrets; figuratively, the depths of misfortune or vice.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  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. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de