Etymologically
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serius

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈseː.ri.ʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈsɛː.ri.us][1]

Forms

sērius (feminine sēria, neuter sērium, comparative sērior, superlative sērissimus); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

The origin is disputed.[1] It is usually traced to Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“heavy, difficult”), comparing Old English swǣr (“heavy, grievous”) and Old High German swāri (“heavy”), an etymology followed by Walde, Pokorny and Schrijver.[1][2][3] De Vaan objects that *swē- would have given ⟨suē-⟩ in Latin, and proposes instead Proto-Italic *sēr-jo-, from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-ro- (“slow, heavy”), as in sērus “late”.[3][1] Lewis and Short connected it with sevērus “stern”.[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler give Naevius first.[3][5] Köbler dates Naevius c. 235–200 BC.[5] Plautus has a character put off all serious matters to another day.[2]

Semantic evolution

It meant weighty, important or serious, opposed to playful or jocular, and of people sober in character or appearance.[2][4] Lewis and Short note that in Classical Latin it is used only of things, while sevērus is used of persons too.[4] The neuter plural sēria meant serious matters.[6]

In medieval British Latin it meant earnest and sober, and genuine or sincere.[6] It survives in Italian serio and Spanish serio, and through Late Latin sēriōsus it gave English serious in the early 15th century.[1][7]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses the word.[3][5]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of serious matters.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero contrasts serious with jocular things.[4][5]
  • early 15th century – English serious is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Weighty, important, serious.[2]
  2. Grave, earnest, not jocular.[4][1]
  3. Sober (in character or appearance).[2]

Word family

  • sēria
  • serietas

Usage notes

A different word, the comparative adverb sērius “later, too late”, has the same form.[1][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.