Etymologically
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quotiens

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkʷɔ.ti.ẽːs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkʷɔt.t͡si.ens][1]

Forms

quotiēns (not comparable)[1] It is also spelled quotiēs.[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin quot (“how many”) + -iēns, like totiēns from tot.[2][1] De Vaan derives quot from Proto-Italic *kwoti, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷe/o-ti (“how many”), cognate with Sanskrit कति (káti, “how many”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has quotiēns dīcendum est? ēlūsī mīlitem, inquam, in āleā, “how many times must I say it? I cheated the soldier at dice, I tell you”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Quotiēns asks “how many times? how often?”, and in exclamations means “how often!” (Terence: Pamphilus iūrābat quotiēns Bacchidī, “how often Pamphilus swore to Bacchis!”, Virgil: ō quotiēns et quae nōbīs Galatēa locūta est!, “oh, how often and what things Galatea told us!”).[2][3][1] As a relative it means “as often as, whenever”, often answered by totiēns (Cato: quotiēns ībis, totiēns magis placēbit, “the more often you go, the more you will like it”).[2][1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: quotiēns dīcendum est?.[2][5]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato: quotiēns ībis, totiēns magis placēbit.[2][5]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it in exclamation.[2][5]
  • 70–19 BC – Virgil: ō quotiēns et quae nōbīs Galatēa locūta est!.[3][5]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. How many times? how often?[2][3][1]
  2. How often! (in exclamations).[2][3]
  3. As often as, whenever (often with totiēns).[2][3][1]

Word family

  • quotiēnscumque

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de