sollemnis

Forms

sollemnis (neuter sollemne, comparative sollemnior, adverb sollemniter); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1] It is also spelled sōlemnis, and Cato has sollempnis.^[2][3] The superlative is perhaps found only in Fronto and Apuleius.^[2]

Etymology

The OLD calls the origin doubtful.^[2] It is traditionally explained as from Latin sollus (“whole”) + annus (“year”), as Festus does, but Wiktionary finds the dissimilation this needs bizarre.^[2][1] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of sollus (“whole”), which he traces to Proto-Italic *solno- (“whole”) and Proto-Indo-European *sol(h₂)-no- (“whole”).^[4] Szemerényi proposed an old middle participle of soleō (“to be accustomed”), and Nussbaum sollus with epulum (“feast”) in an older sense ritual.^[1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Cato.^[4][6] In the OLD's earliest quotation Cato speaks of rites that are fixed, solemn and sacred.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is first performed according to the forms of religion, solemn, ceremonial: Cicero has the solemn prayer at elections, Virgil solemn vows to the Nymphs, and Livy dances.^[2] Of banquets it is formal, as in Curtius and Tacitus, and in law it is formal, according to legal procedure, as the set words of Gaius.^[2] In general it is traditional, customary: Horace calls hunting a customary task for Roman men.^[2] Lewis & Short take its first sense to be yearly.^[3] The neuter ⟨sollemne⟩ is a noun: a religious ceremony, especially in the plural, the formalities of law, and a customary practice, as Cicero's habit of never letting a traveller go without a letter.^[2] Church Latin glosses it solemn, and the noun solemnity, rite, ceremony.^[7] English solemn comes from it, partly through Old French, from the mid-14th century.^[5]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato of solemn rites.^[2][4][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of the solemn prayer at elections.^[2][6]
• 65–8 BC – Horace of a customary task.^[2][6]
• 140–180 AD – Gaius of formal legal words.^[2][6]
• mid-14th century – English solemn.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Yearly, annual.^[3][1]
2. Performed according to religious forms, solemn, ceremonial; of banquets, formal;^[2][3][1][7] (law) formal.^[2][3][1][7]
3. Traditional, customary.^[2][3][1]

Noun

1. sollemne: a religious ceremony, solemn rite; in the plural, ritual offerings or legal formalities.^[2][7]
2. sollemne: a customary practice.^[2]

Word family

• sollemne
• sollemnitās
• sollemnitus
• sollemnizō
• sollemniter

Related words

• sollers
• sollicitus
• solliferreum
• sollus
• annus

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 g h i j k l m n o p q r Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson