Etymologically
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temetum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [teːˈmeː.tũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [teˈmɛː.tum][1]

Forms

tēmētum n (genitive tēmētī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is ultimately inherited from Proto-Italic *tēmo- (“intoxication, intoxicating substance”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *tēmH- (“intoxication”).[2] De Vaan infers an original o-stem ⟨*tēmo-⟩ from abstēmius (“refraining from wine”), which he explains as formed from a phrase ⟨*abs tēmō⟩, and tēmulentus (“drunken”); it may continue a PIE root noun.[2] Wiktionary connects the root with *temH- (“dark”).[1]

Cognate with Sanskrit ताम्यति (tā́myati, “to be stupefied”), Armenian թմրել (tʻmrel, “to become stunned, numb”), German dämisch and dämlich, from Proto-Germanic *þǣm-i-.[2][1] Long ⟨ē⟩ is confirmed by Armenian and Germanic, while the Sanskrit ⟨ā⟩ is probably secondary.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus on:[2][3] in the Aulularia a character notes that no strong drink has been brought (temeti nihil allatum intellego).[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant any intoxicating drink, strong wine or mead.[5][4][1] Lewis and Short call it mostly ante-classical and poetic,[4] and Döderlein calls it the antiquated, poetic name for wine beside the usual vinum.[6] Cato (quoted by Pliny), Varro, Horace, Juvenal, Cicero's De re publica and Gellius use it.[4] The comic poet Novius jokingly called a parasite temeti timor, “dread of wine”.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it in the Aulularia and the Truculentus.[4][2][3]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it in a passage quoted by Pliny the Elder.[4][3]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace uses it in the Epistles.[4][3]
  • c. 67–c. 127 AD – Juvenal uses it.[4][3]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it.[4][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Any intoxicating drink, strong drink.[5][4]
  2. Especially strong wine or mead.[4][1]

Word family

  • abstēmius

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper