Etymologically
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sus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈsuːs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈsus][1]

Forms

sūs m or f (genitive suis); irregular, third declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *sūs, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *suH- (“pig, swine”), probably originally “sow”, from the root *suH- “to give birth”.[2][1] Cognate with Umbrian sim (“pig”), Ancient Greek ὗς (hûs, “pig”), Sanskrit सूकर (sūkará-, “wild boar”), Old English sū (“sow”) and Old Norse sýr (“sow”).[2][3] The alternation of nominative sūs with short /su-/ in other cases led to compounds with /su-/ such as subulcus “swineherd”.[2] Isidore derived it from subigere, because the pig turns up the ground looking for food.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus, who has slaves told to drag a man out by the feet like a slaughtered sow.[2][5][3] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It was a pig of either sex, or a sow, and Döderlein notes that it was the general name used by naturalists, while verrēs “boar”, scrōfa “breeding sow” and porcus were farmers' words.[3][6] The proverb sūs Minervam “the pig teaches Minerva” was said of one who instructs his betters, as in Cicero.[7] Ovid uses it of a sea fish.[3]

In Medieval Latin it was also a siege engine and, in British sources, sūs maris was the porpoise, “mereswine”.[8][9] Little of it survived in Romance, where porcus took over, but Romanian sor “wild pig” continues it.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of a slaughtered sow.[3][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero cites the proverb sūs Minervam.[7][5]
  • 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of a sea fish.[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A pig, swine; a sow.[3]
  2. A sea fish.[3]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A siege engine.[8]

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes sūs, the general and scientific name, from verrēs (boar), scrōfa (breeding sow) and porcus (domestic pig).[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ 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