stimulus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈstɪ.mʊ.ɫʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈstiː.mu.lus]^[1]

Forms

stimulus m (genitive stimulī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

The OLD derives it, probably, from an Indo-European root ⟨*stei-⟩ “to prick”, also found in stilus and īnstīgō.^[2] Wiktionary likewise suggests Proto-Indo-European *(s)tey- (“sharp object”), perhaps an unextended form of the root of Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to pierce”).^[1] Köbler compares ⟨*stei-⟩ “pointed” (Pokorny 1015).^[3] Lewis & Short took it for ⟨*stig-mulus⟩ and compared Ancient Greek στίζω (stízō, “to prick”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is Plautus, of a goad.^[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It was a goad for driving animals or slaves, and in Cicero figuratively anything that torments the mind, a sting of grief or anxiety, and anything that rouses to passion or action, a spur.^[2][4]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a sting, spur, goad, and the lower end of a crosier.^[5] English stimulus (1680s) began as a medical term for something that goads an organ.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a goad.^[2][3]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it figuratively.^[2][3]
• 1680s – English stimulus is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A goad for driving animals.^[2][4]
2. A sting, torment (of grief or anxiety).^[2]
3. A spur, incentive.^[2]

Word family

• stimuleus
• stimulō

Related words

• stimulātiō
• stilus
• īnstīgō
• English stimulus
• English stimulate

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com