Etymologically
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quaestuosus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kʷae̯s.tuˈoː.sʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [kʷes.tuˈɔː.s̬us][1]

Forms

quaestuōsus (feminine quaestuōsa, neuter quaestuōsum, comparative quaestuōsior, superlative quaestuōsissimus); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin quaestus (“gain, profit”) + -ōsus.[2][1] quaestus is formed on quaerō “to seek”, which de Vaan, following Nussbaum, traces to Proto-Italic *kwai-s-e/o- and an i-present Proto-Indo-European *kueh₂-i- (“to acquire”), comparing Doric πέπαμαι (pépāmai, “to get, acquire”); he notes that other explanations have been proposed.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,[3][4] where it is said of a woman good at making money.[2]

Semantic evolution

Of things it is producing income, profitable or lucrative: Cato advises on a farm however productive it may be, and Cicero calls trade gainful and a workshop most lucrative.[2][5] Of persons it is good at making money, financially successful.[2] Lewis & Short call it classical, with lucrōsus as a synonym.[5] Church Latin glosses it profitable.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a woman who earns money.[2][3][4]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato of a productive farm.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of gainful trade.[5][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Producing income, profitable, lucrative, advantageous.[2][5][1][6]
  2. Good at making money, financially successful.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson