Etymologically
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stuprum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈstʊ.prũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈstuː.prum][1]

Forms

stuprum n (genitive stuprī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *stup-ro- (“struck, hit”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *stup-ro-, from the root of stupeō, ⟨*stup-eh₁-⟩ “to hit, push”: what is struck or stunned became what is dishonoured.[2][1] Cognates are Ancient Greek τύπτω (túptō, “to hit, strike”), τύπος (túpos, “blow, impression”), Cuneiform Luwian dūp(a)i- (“to strike”) and Albanian shtyp (“to crush”).[2] The OLD calls the etymology doubtful, comparing ⟨stupeō⟩, the Greek verb and Old Frisian stūpa (“public flogging”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler and de Vaan record it from Naevius on.[4][2] Its old sense “dishonour, shame” is in a saying of Appius Claudius: nē quid fraudis stuprīque ferōcia pariat, “lest arrogance breed deceit or disgrace”.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short note that the general sense “dishonour, disgrace”, which Festus reports from the ancients, is only ante-classical.[5] From Plautus on it is illicit sexual intercourse of any kind, forced or not (Alcmena protests at being accused by her husband probrī, stuprī, dēdecoris), and Cicero sets stupra beside adulteries as distinct offences.[3]

Church Latin glosses it “violation, dishonour, disgrace, debauchery, lewdness, immorality, defilement”.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius, its first recorded use.[4][2]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of illicit intercourse.[3][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero distinguishes stupra from adulteries.[3][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (ante-classical) dishonour, disgrace, shame.[3][5][1]
  2. Illicit sexual intercourse, debauchery; a violation, rape.[3][1][6]

Word family

  • stuprō
  • stuprōsus
  • cōnstuprātor
  • cōnstuprō
  • stuprātor
  • stuprē

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson