Etymologically
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suavior

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈsʷaː.wi.ɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈsʷaː.vi.or][1]

Forms

suāvior (present infinitive suāviārī, perfect active suāviātus sum); first conjugation, deponent[1] Also spelled sāvior, the form under which the OLD and Georges enter it.[2][3] An active form suāviō or sāviō is also found.[2][4][5]

Etymology

It is from Latin sāvium (“kiss”) + -or.[2][1] De Vaan treats sāvium under suāvis (“sweet”), with the first of two /w/ sounds lost by dissimilation.[6] The adjective goes back to Proto-Italic *swādu- (“sweet”) and Proto-Indo-European *sueh₂d-u- (“sweet”).[6]

Through it the word is related to Ancient Greek ἡδύς (hēdús, “sweet, pleasant”) and Sanskrit स्वादु (svādú-, “sweet”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in the Atellan farces of Pomponius and in the historian Quadrigarius, and in Cicero (81–43 BC),[5][7] always meaning “to kiss”.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short count it as Classical.[4] Cicero writes to Atticus that he longs to kiss “our Attica” though she is away (Atticam nostram cupio absentem suaviari, Letters to Atticus 16.3.6),[4] and Catullus kisses a friend's “mouth and eyes” (os oculosque, 9.9).[4][3] Fronto, Gellius, who quotes a poet's “gaping kiss”, and Ammianus Marcellinus also use it.[3] In Fronto the perfect participle sāviātus has the passive sense “kissable”.[3]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.[5][4][7]
  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus kisses “mouth and eyes”.[4][3][7]
  • 100–170 AD – Fronto uses it, and its participle in the sense “kissable”.[3][7]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius quotes a poet who uses it.[3][7]
  • c. 390 AD – Ammianus Marcellinus uses it.[3][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To kiss.[2][4][1]

Usage notes

The active suāviō is quoted by Nonius from Pomponius and Novatus.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de