rigidus

Forms

rigidus (feminine rigida, neuter rigidum, comparative rigidior); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from rigeō (“to be stiff”) with the suffix -idus.^[2][3][1] De Vaan derives ⟨rigeō⟩ from Proto-Italic *rig-ē- and Proto-Indo-European *Hriǵ-eh₁- (“to be stretched, be stiff”), cognate with Old Irish rigid (“stretches”) and Old English rǣcan (“to reach”); he notes that the adjective is attested earlier than the verb, and rejects both a derivation from regō (“to direct”) and Walde and Hofmann's link with frīgus (“cold”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives Ennius as its first author.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It is stiff or rigid, unbending, as Livy's runners “with stiff neck and head stretched out”, of surfaces unyielding, of sculpture wooden or lacking grace, as Cicero's statues of Canachus too stiff to imitate reality, and of the eyes set.^[2][3] It is stiff with frost or ice, as Virgil's earth frozen by the north wind, of limbs numb, and of water ice-cold.^[2][3] It is also stiffly erect, as Cicero's ibises with their stiff legs, of hair standing on end, and of the penis.^[2]

Of people it is rough or primitive in their way of life, as Horace's rigidī Getae, and stern, strict or inflexible, as Horace's “strict guardian of true virtue” and Livy's Cato of rigid integrity.^[2][1] Lewis and Short find it mostly in poetry and post-Augustan prose.^[3] Church Latin glosses it “rigid, stiff, unbending”.^[6] English rigid was taken from it in the early 15th century.^[7]

Timeline

• 204–169 BC – Ennius.^[5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of stiff statues and stiff legs.^[2][5]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil of frozen earth.^[2][5]
• 65–8 BC – Horace of rugged Getae and a strict guardian of virtue.^[2][5]
• early 15th century – English rigid.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Stiff, rigid, unbending, hard;^[2][3][1][6] (of art) wooden.^[2][3][1][6]
2. Stiff with cold, frozen; numb; ice-cold.^[2][3]
3. Stiffly erect; bristling.^[2]
4. Rough, rugged, primitive.^[2]
5. Stern, strict, inflexible.^[2][1]

Word family

• praerigidus
• rigiditās
• rigidē
• rigidō

Related words

• rigefaciō
• rigēns
• rigeō
• rigēscō
• rigor
• rigōrātus
• dūrus
• sevērus
• English rigid

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 l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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 e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com