scaevus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈskae̯.wʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈʃɛː.vus]^[1]

Forms

scaevus (feminine scaeva, neuter scaevum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *skaiwo-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *skeh₂-i-wo- (“shaded; left”).^[2][1] Cognate with Ancient Greek σκαιός (skaiós, “left; awkward”).^[2][3][1] Following Steinbauer, de Vaan derives it from a root Proto-Indo-European *sḱeh₂-(i-) (“to shine”), which also gave words for shade such as Ancient Greek σκιά (skiá, “shadow”) and Sanskrit छाया (chāyā́, “shadow”): the shaded side came to mean the west, and the shaded or improper hand the left.^[2] Latin has a rhyming word laevus of the same meaning.^[2] Köbler takes it as a borrowing of the Greek word.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Vitruvius, and its noun scaeva “omen” from Plautus.^[2] Köbler gives Plautus as the first source.^[4] Köbler dates Vitruvius c. 84–c. 25 BC and Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant left, of the hand, as in Seneca, and of omens and events inauspicious, unlucky, as in Apuleius, where it is most frequent.^[3][5] Of people it meant awkward, perverse, misguided, as Sallust's scaevus iste Rōmulus “that perverse Romulus” and Gellius.^[3][6] Lewis and Short call it rare, with laevus and sinister as its synonyms.^[5] Scaevola was a phallic charm, and the cognomen of the Mucii.^[2][5]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses the noun scaeva “omen”.^[2][4]
• 86–34 BC – Sallust calls Sulla a perverse Romulus.^[6][4]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of the left hand.^[3][4]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of unlucky events.^[3][4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (of the hand) Left.^[3]
2. (of omens) Inauspicious, unlucky.^[3]
3. Perverse, misguided, awkward.^[3][6]

Word family

• scaeuitās

Related words

• laevus
• obscūrus
• sinister

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.