tepor

Forms

tepor m (genitive tepōris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin tepeō (“to be warm”) + -or.^[2][1] De Vaan traces tepeō to Proto-Italic *tep-ē- (“to be warm”) and Proto-Indo-European *t(e)p-eh₁- (“to be warm”); the noun might continue an old neuter Proto-Indo-European *tep-os- (“warmth”), seen in Sanskrit तपस् (tápas-, “heat, glow”), but since it appears only from Varro on it may be a recent formation.^[3][1] He compares Old Irish té (“hot”) and tess (“heat”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Varro,^[3] who writes of roots spreading through the warmth of the earth;^[2] Köbler dates it from Catullus.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It is a gentle warmth, as against cold: Cicero writes of warmth that comes from outside, Livy of the sun's warmth.^[5][2] Horace uses the plural of feverish heats at night, and Pliny the Elder of a mild pungency of taste in cassia.^[2] Measured against true heat it is lukewarmness: Curtius has a spring cool down to its usual lukewarmness.^[2] Lewis & Short contrast it with fervor and calor.^[5]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro of the warmth of the earth.^[2][3][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of outside warmth.^[5][4]
• 65–8 BC – Horace of feverish heats.^[2][4]
• 1st century AD – Curtius of a spring growing lukewarm.^[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. Gentle warmth, mild heat.^[2][5][1]
2. A feverish heat.^[2]
3. A slight pungency of taste or smell.^[2]
4. Lukewarmness, tepidity.^[2][5][1]

Word family

• teporātus
• teporus

Related words

• tepeō
• tepidus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press