semisomnus

Forms

sēmisomnus (feminine sēmisomna, neuter sēmisomnum); first/second-declension adjective^[1] Also third-declension sēmisomnis, sēmisomne, as in Seneca.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is from Latin sēmi- (“half”) + somnus (“sleep”), with the adjective endings ⟨-us⟩ and ⟨-is⟩.^[2][5] De Vaan traces the noun to Proto-Italic *swe/opno- (“sleep”) and Proto-Indo-European *suépno- (“sleep”), beside ⟨*suopno-⟩, and compares Ancient Greek ὕπνος (húpnos), Sanskrit स्वप्न (svápna-, “sleep, dream”) and Old Irish súan (“sleep”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found first in Plautus, in the Curculio.^[3][7][8]

Semantic evolution

It means half asleep, drowsy.^[2][3] Cicero, Sallust, Livy and Tacitus use it,^[3][9] and Seneca has semisomnes crapulā, half asleep with drink.^[7] Caelius, quoted by Quintilian, has semisomnus sopor, a half-sleep,^[4][7] and Phaedrus semisomno corde, absent-mindedly.^[7]

In British medieval Latin it can also suggest laziness, and glossaries put it beside words for sluggish and idle.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it in the Curculio.^[3][7][8]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it in a letter.^[3][4][8]
• 86–34 BC – Sallust uses it.^[3][4][8]
• c. 15 BC–c. 50 AD – Phaedrus has semisomno corde.^[7][8]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses the form semisomnis.^[3][4][8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Half asleep, drowsy, sleepy.^[2][3][9]
2. semisomnus sopor: a half-sleep, doze.^[4][7]
3. semisomno corde: absent-mindedly.^[7]
4. (Medieval Latin) Sluggish, lazy.^[10]

Related words

• somnus
• sēmi-

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
9. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
10. ^ a b 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