septingenti

Forms

septingentī (feminine septingentae, neuter septingenta); first/second-declension numeral, plural only^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin septem (“seven”) + centum (“hundred”).^[2][1][3] De Vaan explains the form as a regular outcome of ⟨*septengentoi⟩, from Proto-Indo-European *septm-dḱmt-oi.^[4] He traces septem to Proto-Italic *septm̥ and Proto-Indo-European *septḿ̥ (“seven”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has it first,^[4][3] of seven hundred coins in the Rudens.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It is an ordinary numeral: Ennius speaks of seven hundred years, Cicero of seven hundred years of memory and of seven hundred miles, and Livy of seven hundred soldiers.^[5] Pliny the Elder counts stadia with it.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus, of seven hundred coins.^[5][4][3]
• 204–169 BC – Ennius, of seven hundred years.^[5][3]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero, of seven hundred years of memory.^[5][3]

Meanings

Numeral

1. Seven hundred.^[2][5][1]

Word family

• septingēnī
• septingentēsimus
• septingenties

Related words

• septem
• centum
• sescentī
• octingentī

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d 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 f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press