quadraginta

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [kʷa.draːˈɡɪn.taː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [kʷa.draˈd͡ʒin.ta]^[1]

Forms

quadrāgintā (indeclinable)^[1]

Etymology

It continues Proto-Indo-European *kʷt(u)r-dḱmt- (“forty”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷétuores (“four”), the source of quattuor.^[2][1] De Vaan reports Schrijver's view that quadr- arose by voicing of /t/ in clusters, as in this numeral, and that the long ā is phonetic, from *kʷadr-Hkmt- as Kortlandt proposed.^[2] Cognate with Ancient Greek τετρώκοντα (tetrṓkonta) and Sanskrit चत्वारिंशत् (catvāriṃśát).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus onwards, and Plautus has forty-four minae in the Mostellaria.^[2][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It is the indeclinable numeral forty, as Cicero's man forty years old and Livy's forty-five.^[3][5] Medieval writers used it of the forty days of Lent.^[6]

Its descendants include French quarante and French quarantaine.^[4] Through Italian quaranta giorni “forty days” it gave English quarantine in the 1660s, the period a ship was kept isolated.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a man forty years old.^[3][4]
• 1660s – English quarantine is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Numeral

1. forty.^[8][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) The forty days of Lent.^[6]

Word family

• quadrāgēnī
• quadrāgēsimus
• quadrāgiēns

Related words

• quattuor
• English quarantine

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press