pudibundus

Forms

pudibundus (feminine pudibunda, neuter pudibundum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin pudeō (“to be ashamed”) + -bundus.^[2][1] De Vaan traces pudeō to Proto-Italic *pud-ē- (“to be ashamed or shy”), whose further origin is unclear: a link with paviō (“to strike”) or with Proto-Indo-European *speud- (“to press, hurry”) has been proposed, but the root lacks the initial /s/ and is not securely reconstructed.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Horace,^[4] who in the Ars poetica says that Tragedy will mingle, somewhat shamefaced, with the wanton Satyrs; the sense is “filled with shame”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Ovid uses it of faces and of a shamed part of the body, Pliny the Elder of a peacock that is ashamed and grieving when it has lost its tail, and Statius of a day that dawns ashamed.^[5][6][7] From the 1st century AD it also meant “shameful”, causing shame: Valerius Flaccus has shameful deaths, the Laus Pisonis shameful jests, and Justin a shameful descent on the mother's side.^[2][6] Augustine speaks of a somewhat bashful argument.^[6] The grammarian Charisius lists it among participles, while a scholiast on Statius calls it a noun, not a participle.^[8]

British Medieval Latin used it of a person filled with shame, and of the parts of the body about which one should be modest;^[9] Aldhelm has the neuter plural for the private parts.^[9]

Timeline

• 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of Tragedy among the Satyrs.^[2][4]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of faces.^[5][4]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of a peacock.^[5][4]
• c. 45–96 AD – Statius has a day that dawns ashamed.^[6][4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Filled with shame, shamefaced, bashful, modest;^[2][5] (of a flower) blushing.^[2][5]
2. Causing shame, shameful, disgraceful.^[2][6]
3. (Medieval Latin) About which one should be modest;^[9] (neuter plural) the private parts.^[9]

Related words

• pudēns
• pudet
• pudīcus
• pudor
• Italian pudibondo

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b c d Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press