Etymologically
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pudice

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Forms

pudīcē (comparative pudīcius, superlative pudīcissimē)[1]

Etymology

It is an adverb, from Latin pudīcus (“chaste, modest”), formed with -ē.[2][3][1] The adjective comes from pudeō (“to be ashamed, (impersonal) it shames”).[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Conte and Gaffiot cite it first from Plautus, Gaffiot for the comparative pudīcius,[5][6] and Köbler from Terence,[4] in whose Andria a woman is said to have lived her life decently (haec pudīcē vītam agēbat).[5]

Semantic evolution

It means with a sense of propriety, decently, respectably, and in particular chastely:[2][3] Terence also writes of a nature well and decently brought up, and Catullus asks that a boy be kept chaste for him (cōnservēs puerum mihi pudīcē).[3][5] Pliny the Younger uses the comparative.[6] Transferred to style, Gellius says each kind of speech becomes more distinguished when it is adorned chastely and modestly, and Fronto uses it in a similar way.[2][5] In medieval British Latin it keeps the sense modestly and decently, as when Alcuin, around 798, urges that God be served soberly, chastely and modestly.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses the comparative.[6][5][4]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of a decent life.[5][4]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus uses it of keeping a boy chaste.[3][4]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it of a chaste style.[2][4]
  • c. 798 – Alcuin uses it in an exhortation to serve God modestly.[7]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. With a sense of propriety, decently, respectably; chastely.[2][3]
  2. (of style) In a chaste or restrained manner.[2][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  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 Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b 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