Etymologically
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tranquillus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [traŋˈkʷɪl.lʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [traŋˈkʷil.lus][1]

Forms

tranquillus (feminine tranquilla, neuter tranquillum, adverb tranquillē or tranquillō); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is usually explained from trāns and a form *kʷīlno- “quiet”, from the root of quiēs, Proto-Indo-European *kʷih₁- (“to be quiet”), with the vowel quantity shifted.[2][1][3] De Vaan finds this vague in meaning, since “across” does not fit, and difficult in sound.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus.[4][3] In Plautus someone sails with a fair wind on a calm sea.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant calm or still, of the sea and weather, then of people behaving calmly, and of peaceful conditions.[2] The neuter tranquillum was calm weather or a calm sea.[5] It was also a cognomen, best known from the historian Suetonius Tranquillus.[2]

English tranquil came from it, perhaps through French, in the mid-15th century, and tranquillitās gave tranquillity.[6] It was borrowed in the same way into French tranquille and Italian tranquillo.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of sailing on a calm sea.[2][3]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – the historian Suetonius bears the cognomen Tranquillus.[2][3]
  • mid-15th century – English tranquil is recorded.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (of the sea, weather) Calm, still.[2]
  2. (of people) Calm, tranquil.[2]
  3. (of conditions) Peaceful, quiet.[2]

Word family

  • tranquillitās
  • tranquillō
  • tranquillum
  • tranquillē

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes quiēs, absolute rest, from tranquillitās, calm in acting as against haste or passion, and so groups tranquillus with lēnis and placidus.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper