Etymologically
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tepor

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈtɛ.pɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈtɛː.por][1]

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

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