Etymologically
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sororius

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [sɔˈroː.ri.ʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [soˈrɔː.ri.us][1]

Forms

sorōrius (feminine sorōria, neuter sorōrium); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin soror (“sister”) + -ius.[2][1] The noun soror goes back to Proto-Italic *swesōr- (“sister”) and Proto-Indo-European *suésōr (“sister”);[3] Latin generalised the ⟨-ōr-⟩ of the nominative through the whole paradigm.[3] Cognate with Old Irish siur and Lithuanian sesuõ, both “sister”.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Plautus,[4] who has cēnam sorōriam, a dinner to celebrate the finding of a sister, in the Curculio.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it meant of or concerning a sister: Cicero uses it of incest with a sister,[2][5] and Ovid of a sister's city and of sisterly kisses.[2][5] Justin has sorōria ultiō, revenge for a sister,[6] and Apuleius uses it of a group made up of sisters.[2]

As a noun, sorōrius meant a sister's husband, a brother-in-law, in inscriptions,[2][6] and a sister's son in the glossaries.[6] Medieval Latin used it for a sister's husband, a wife's brother and a nephew.[7][8]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of a dinner for a found sister.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of incest with a sister.[2][4]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of sisterly kisses.[2][4]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of a band of sisters.[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or concerning a sister.[2][5]
  2. Consisting of sisters.[2]
  3. Befitting a sister, sisterly.[2][5]

Noun

  1. A sister's husband, brother-in-law.[2][6]
  2. (Late Latin) A sister's son, nephew.[6]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A wife's brother.[7][8]

Usage notes

The OLD has a separate Sorōrius, which it compares with sorōriō: a cult title of Juno, and the tigillum sorōrium, a wooden beam set up for puberty rites.[2] Popular tradition linked the beam with the purification of Horatius after he killed his sister,[2] and Livy says he had to pass under it.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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 de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ a b 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