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sica

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word sica

Confidence
Unknown
First attested
204–169 BC, Ennius

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈsiː.ka][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈsiː.ka][1]

Forms

sīca f (genitive sīcae); first declension[1]

Etymology

The origin is unknown.[2][1] De Vaan finds no way to connect it with the root of secō “to cut”, and no other etymology, and thinks it may well be a loanword;[2] the OLD compares that verb with a “perhaps”.[3] Wiktionary reports a proposed borrowing from early Albanian, comparing Albanian thikë (“knife”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Ennius, quoted by Festus.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

It is a dagger, by Lewis & Short's account a curved one.[3][4] Döderlein contrasts the pugiō, a soldier's weapon used openly, with the sīca, the secret weapon of the assassin, the sīcārius.[5] Cicero uses it in the speeches against Catiline, and lists daggers among everyday crimes beside poison and embezzlement.[4] Wiktionary also gives the edge of a boar's tusk.[1] In Medieval Latin the word, by association with secāre, also means a saw.[6]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of daggers.[4][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A dagger, poniard, especially a curved one; an assassin's weapon.[3][4][1][8]
  2. The edge of a boar's tusk.[1]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A saw.[6]

Word family

Usage notes

Niermeyer has a separate Medieval Latin sica or sicus “stream, ditch”, from Anglo-Saxon.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  6. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Sica.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/sica. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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