Etymologically
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rictus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈrɪk.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈrik.tus][1]

Forms

rictus m (genitive rictūs); fourth declension[1] A neuter rictum is found in Cicero and Lucretius, and Lucretius has the plural ricta.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin ringor (“to open the mouth, show the teeth”) + -tus.[2][1][3] De Vaan traces ringor to Proto-Italic *wreng-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *u̯reng- (“to turn, curve”), comparing Old English wrencan (“to turn”): the sense would come from curving the lips to show the teeth, and the participle then has a secondary ⟨i⟩.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Lucilius,[5] who is among the early writers Nonius quotes for it beside Varro, Titinius and Pomponius.[3]

Semantic evolution

It is the opening of the lips, the open mouth, especially in laughing, as in Varro's very small mouth with laughter held back.[2][3] Lewis & Short compare hiatus.[3] Of animals it is the gaping jaws: Lucretius has dogs whose soft jaws snarl as they bare their hard teeth, and Ovid uses it often.[2][3] In poetry it can also be the opening of the eyes, as in Lucan and the Hercules Oetaeus.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius.[3][5]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius of dogs' snarling jaws.[2][3][5]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid of the jaws of animals.[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The open mouth, the parting of the lips, especially in laughing.[2][3][1]
  2. Of animals, the gaping jaws.[2][3][1]
  3. (poetic) The opening of the eyes.[3]

Word family

  • rictō
  • ringor

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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