simpliciter
Pronunciation
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
- As one single item or category.[2]
- Without qualification, simply, just; of a question, in plain terms.[2][1]
- Without complexity, plainly, straightforwardly.[2][1]
- Without reserve, frankly, openly.[2]
- Artlessly, innocently, naively; simple-mindedly.[2]
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de