thius

Forms

thīus m (genitive thīī); second declension^[1] Also spelled ⟨tius⟩ and ⟨zius⟩.^[2][3][1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek θεῖος (theîos, “uncle”).^[1][3][4] Köbler connects the Greek word with a PIE noun Proto-Indo-European *dʰē- (“relative”).^[3] Isidore of Seville already notes that ⟨tius⟩ is Greek.^[5][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first author is Isidore of Seville, in the chapter of the Etymologiae on kinship: Tius Graecum est, “tius is Greek”, he writes, before explaining the Latin patruus, the father's brother, as a second father.^[5][6][3]

Semantic evolution

In Latin it took the place of the classical patruus and avunculus.^[4] Niermeyer gives it as the father's brother,^[2] while Du Cange cites a gloss explaining thii as both patruī and avunculī.^[4] The Latin version of Justinian's Novels uses it several times,^[4] a letter in the Codex Carolinus speaks of an uncle of the king of the Persians who led his army,^[4] and Italian chronicles and charters use it of the uncles of counts and dukes: in a pact of 911, Duke Gregory of Naples names his uncle beside the consul John.^[4] It lives on in Italian zio, Spanish tío, Portuguese tio and Sardinian tziu.^[1][2][4]

Timeline

• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville notes that it is a Greek word.^[5][3]
• 911 – A pact of Duke Gregory of Naples names his uncle.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin, Medieval Latin) An uncle, especially a father's brother.^[2][6][1][4]

Related words

• thia

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e 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 du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
5. ^ a b c Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.