ramus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈraː.mʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈraː.mus]^[1]

Forms

rāmus m (genitive rāmī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It probably goes back to Proto-Italic *wrā(d)mo-, from *wrād-mo-, related to rādīx “root”.^[2][1][3][4] De Vaan justifies the meaning by Ancient Greek ῥάδιξ (rhádix, “branch”), which shows that the root could mean “branch” as well as “root”.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Cato, and Köbler from Ennius.^[2][5] A tragic fragment quoted by Cicero has branches bending under a wealth of berries.^[3] Köbler dates Cato 234–149 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It was a branch, bough or twig of a tree, and by analogy a branch of a mountain range, an antler or a river, and a branch of a family.^[3][6] Cicero speaks figuratively of cutting off the branches of miseries.^[6]

Döderlein contrasts rāmī, living green boughs, with rāmālia, dry ones.^[7] In medieval British Latin the rāmus aureus was Virgil's golden bough, and the dove's olive branch was a sign of peace.^[8] Medieval Latin rāmificāre gave English ramify, and ramus was borrowed as an anatomical term in 1803.^[9] The DÉRom reconstructs Proto-Romance */ˈram-u/, as in Italian ramo and Spanish ramo.^[10]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato uses it.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of cutting off the branches of miseries.^[6][5]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it.^[6][5]
• early 15th century – English ramify is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A branch, bough, twig.^[3]
2. A branch (of a mountain range, an antler).^[3]
3. A branch of a family.^[3]

Word family

• rāmāle
• rāmes
• rāmeus
• rāmex
• rāmōsus
• rāmulus
• rāmusculus
• multiramis

Related words

• rādīx
• English ramify
• English ramus

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom