refluxus

Forms

refluxus m (genitive refluxūs); fourth declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin refluō (“to flow back”),^[1][3] a noun formed on the verb’s supine with the ending -us.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL’s only ancient example is in Priscianus Lydus, of the flowing back of rivers and the sea;^[1] Köbler dates him to the 6th or 7th century AD.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In Medieval Latin it was above all the ebb of the tide, often paired with fluxus, the flood tide;^[5][4] in British sources it also served as a measure of time in legal contexts and named the backflow from a mill.^[4] Neo-Latin used the plural for the tides.^[2] English reflux, recorded from the early 15th century, comes from it.^[6]

Timeline

• 6th–7th century AD – Priscianus Lydus uses it of the flowing back of waters.^[1][3]
• 1404 – A Canterbury letter speaks of a ship found wrecked as the tide ebbed.^[4]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as reflux.^[6]
• 1501/2 – Galateo uses the plural for the tides of the Black Sea.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A flowing back, reflux.^[1][7]
2. (Medieval Latin) The ebb of the tide;^[5][4][2] (plural, New Latin) the tides.^[5][4][2]
3. (Medieval Latin) A backflow or discharge, as from a mill.^[4]

Related words

• refluō
• English reflux

References

1. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
2. ^ a b c d e Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d e f g 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
5. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org