serum

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈsɛ.rũː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈsɛː.rum]^[1]

Forms

serum n (genitive serī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *sero- (“liquid”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *sér-o- (“flowing, liquid”).^[2][3] Cognate with Ancient Greek ὀρός (orós, “whey”) and Sanskrit सर (sará, “flowing, liquid”).^[2][4] De Vaan notes that the Sanskrit words are usually derived from *sel-, the root of saliō, and that otherwise Latin has only an action noun with e-grade and Greek an agent noun with o-grade.^[2] Lewis and Short took it from the Greek word.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Catullus.^[2] Köbler's first source is Virgil, 70–19 BC.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It meant whey, the watery part of curdled milk, as in Virgil, Columella and Pliny the Elder, and by transfer any similar fluid, as the watery part of pitch in Pliny and, obscenely, semen in Catullus.^[4][5][7]

In Medieval Latin it was whey, distinguished by the animal that gave the milk.^[8] English serum was taken in the 1670s for a watery animal fluid, especially the clear liquid that separates from clotting blood.^[3]

Timeline

• 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus uses it.^[4][6]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of whey.^[7][6]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of other fluids.^[4][6]
• 1670s – English serum is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Whey.^[4]
2. Any similar watery fluid.^[4]

Word family

• serārius
• serēscō
• serōsus

Related words

• English serum

Usage notes

It is distinct from sērum, the neuter of sērus “late”, as in Livy's sērum erat diēī “the day was far gone”.^[7]

References

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