quantus

Forms

quantus (feminine quanta, neuter quantum); first/second-declension adjective^[1] An inscription spells it quamt-.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *kʷānto- (“how great”), from ⟨*kʷeh₂-nt-⟩, built on the feminine stem of the relative pronoun (see quam) with the suffix of tantus.^[3][2][1] Wiktionary gives two analyses: a thematized Proto-Indo-European *kʷéh₂onts (“how much”), or a ⟨*-tos⟩ derivative.^[1]

Compare Umbrian panta (“how much”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Ennius;^[4] Plautus has quanta istaec hominum summast? “how large is that number of men?”^[2]

Semantic evolution

Quantus asks “how great? how much?” and exclaims “how great!” (also of smallness); in indirect questions and relative clauses it means “of what size, as great as”, in the plural “how many”.^[2][5] It is the correlative of tantus (tantus … quantus “as great as”), and quantum maximum potest means “as great as possible”.^[2]

Its neuter quantum is used as a noun and adverb, and quantō … tantō means “the more … the more”.^[1][5] From it come quantitās “quantity” and quantulus “how little”.^[1]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – First found in Ennius.^[4]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: quanta istaec hominum summast?^[2][4]
• 190–159 BC – Terence: conveniet numerus quantum dēbuī, “the sum will match what I owed”.^[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (interrogative) How great? how much?^[2][6]
2. (exclamatory) How great!^[2]
3. (relative) Of what size, as great as;^[2] (plural) how many, as many as.^[2][1]
4. tantus … quantus, as great as.^[2]
5. quantum maximum, quantum potest, as great as possible.^[2]

Word family

• quantillus
• quantīsper
• quantitās
• quantōcius
• quantopere
• quantulus
• quantuscumque
• quantuslibet
• quantusquantus
• quantusvīs
• aliquantus
• quantō

Related words

• tantus
• quam
• quot
• quālis

References

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