rusticus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈruːs.tɪ.kʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈrus.ti.kus]^[1]

Forms

rūsticus (feminine rūstica, neuter rūsticum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from rūs “the country” with the suffix -ticus.^[2][1][3] De Vaan reconstructs Proto-Italic *rowes-tiko-, from ⟨*rowos⟩ “open space, land”, from Proto-Indo-European *Hrewos (“open space, field”).^[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of a farm.^[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant of a farm or its cultivation, as in Plautus and Cicero's praedia rūstica “farm estates”; of the country as against the town, as in Cato; of people living in the country.^[2][6] From there it meant a countryman's lack of refinement, coarse, boorish, as in Cicero; naive, simple, as in Plautus; and provincial, old-fashioned, as in Ovid.^[2] As a noun it was a countryman, a peasant.^[7]

In Medieval Latin rūstica lingua was the vernacular, the language of ordinary people.^[5] British Medieval Latin used it for the country as against the town, as in Bede.^[8] English rustic is recorded in the mid-15th century, and Old French rustre “ruffian”, from it, is behind English roister.^[3][1]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[2][5]
• 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of the countryside.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of boorishness.^[2][5]
• mid-15th century – English rustic is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of a farm; of the country, rural, rustic.^[2]
2. Coarse, boorish, unrefined.^[2]
3. Simple, naive; provincial.^[2]

Noun

1. A countryman, peasant.^[7][9]

Word family

• rūsticānus
• rūsticātim
• rūsticellus
• rūsticitās
• rūsticor
• rusticulus
• subrūsticus
• rūsticē

Related words

• rūs
• agrestis
• English rustic

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
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. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
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. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press