Etymologically
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querneus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈkʷɛr.ne.ʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈkʷɛr.ne.us][1]

Forms

querneus (feminine quernea, neuter querneum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin quercus (“oak”) + -neus, with the same meaning as quernus (“oaken”);[2] Wiktionary instead analyses it as that adjective with the suffix -eus.[1] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of the noun, which goes back to Proto-Italic *kwerkwu/o- and Proto-Indo-European *perkw-o/u- (“(kind of) oak”), with the assimilation of /p/ to /kʷ/ found in Italic and Celtic.[3] Cognate with Old High German fereheih (“kind of oak”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Cato,[3][4] who prescribes cutting leaves of poplar, elm and oak (frondem populneam, ulmeam, querneam).[5][6]

Semantic evolution

It is found mostly before and after the classical period;[5] Lewis & Short call it ante-classical and post-Augustan.[5] Columella uses it of foliage and shrubs, Propertius of leaves, and Suetonius of a crown of oak leaves.[6][5] The shorter quernus is the usual poetic form, in Virgil and Ovid.[6][7]

Timeline

  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of oak leaves.[5][4]
  • 57/46–12 BC – Propertius uses it of leaves.[6][4]
  • 1st century AD – Columella uses it of foliage and shrubs.[5][4]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it of a crown of oak leaves.[6][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of oak, oaken; of oak leaves.[2][5][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b 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 e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f 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