simpliciter

Forms

simpliciter (comparative simplicius, superlative simplicissimē)^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin simplex (“simple, single”) + -ter.^[2][1] simplex is formed from the root of semel (“once”) and -plex (“-fold”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero.^[3] Cicero speaks of a question asked simply, about what is honourable, and not by comparison.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It first means as one single item: the Rhetorica ad Herennium contrasts teaching something simply with dividing it in two.^[2] More often it is without qualification, simply, just: in Livy envoys say they came simply to ask for friendship.^[2] It is also without complexity, plainly, of the style of lawgivers in Cicero, and without reserve, frankly: Caelius warns Cicero not to seem to have laid aside his enmities less than frankly.^[2] Of people it can be artlessly or naively, as in Pliny the Elder, and Ulpian uses it of someone who acted simple-mindedly.^[2] The comparative ⟨simplicius⟩ and the superlative ⟨simplicissimē⟩ are found.^[2]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero of a simple question and of a plain style.^[2][3]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of envoys who came simply to seek friendship.^[2][3]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder of an artless name.^[2][3]
• before 223 AD – Ulpian of simple-minded conduct.^[2][3]

Meanings

Adverb

1. As one single item or category.^[2]
2. Without qualification, simply, just; of a question, in plain terms.^[2][1]
3. Without complexity, plainly, straightforwardly.^[2][1]
4. Without reserve, frankly, openly.^[2]
5. Artlessly, innocently, naively; simple-mindedly.^[2]

Related words

• simplex
• simplicitās

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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