prominens

Forms

prōminēns (genitive prōminentis, comparative prōminentior); third-declension one-termination adjective^[1][2]

Etymology

Used as an adjective, it is the present participle from Latin prōmineō (“to jut out, project”).^[1][3] The verb is formed from prō- (“forward”) and ⟨-mineō⟩ “to project”,^[4] which de Vaan, discussing ēmineō, traces to a root Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to stick out, protrude”), also seen in mōns and mentum.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Vitruvius uses it of figures in relief, “projecting”.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

Seneca uses it of a beard and Pliny the Elder of bulging eyes and of a tail that sticks out further (prominentior).^[6][2][8] As a neuter noun it meant a projection: Tacitus writes in prominenti litoris “on a projecting part of the shore” and calls mountain spurs prominentia montium;^[2][9][8] Ammianus has in prominenti terrarum.^[2]

English borrowed it in the mid-15th century as prominent, “projecting, jutting out”,^[4] and it is the source of Italian prominente.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of figures in relief.^[6][7]
• 4 BC–AD 65 – Seneca uses it of a beard.^[2][6][7]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of eyes and of a tail.^[8][6][7]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses the neuter as a noun for a projection of the shore.^[2][8][7]
• mid-15th century – Borrowed into English as prominent.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Projecting, jutting out, prominent;^[1][3][6] (of figures) in relief.^[1][3][6]

Noun

1. (neuter) A projection, a jutting part;^[2][9][8] (plural) spurs of mountains.^[2][9][8]

Related words

• ēmineō
• English prominent

References

1. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
8. ^ a b c d e f Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
9. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T. (1890), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: American Book Company