triumvir

Forms

triumvir m (genitive triumvirī); second declension^[1] In the plural it is also written as two words, ⟨trēs virī⟩, and inscriptions often write it ⟨iiivir⟩.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin trēs (“three”) + vir (“man”).^[2][4] The OLD explains the first part ⟨trium-⟩ from the genitive plural, used partitively for one of the three men,^[2] and Etymonline derives the word from the Old Latin phrase ⟨trium virum⟩.^[5] The numeral goes back to Proto-Indo-European *treies (“three”), and the noun to Proto-Italic *wiro- and Proto-Indo-European *uiH-ró- (“man, warrior”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus already has the board under the name tresviri, the officials who could shut a man in prison,^[2][3] and a speech of Cato uses the word of a commissioner sent to found a colony.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It was the title of members of several boards of three.^[2][7] The triumviri capitales had charge of prisons and executions, and as triumviri nocturni kept the peace at night;^[2] Valerius Maximus tells of one accused because he had made his night rounds carelessly.^[2] Others ran the mint, distributed land when a colony was founded, as in Cicero, Sallust and Livy, or, as the triumviri mensarii appointed in 216 BC, supervised public finance; the senate also set up boards of three for particular tasks.^[2][7]

In 43 BC Antony, Octavian and Lepidus were appointed triumviri rei publicae constituendae, and Augustus records in his Res Gestae that the people made him one of them.^[2][8] Under the Empire it was also the title of local magistrates in the provinces, of officials of the Augustales, and even of an officer in a guild of slaves.^[2] British medieval writers used it as a title of dignity or office,^[9] and English took it over in the mid-15th century.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus names the tresviri who keep the prison.^[2][4]
• 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of a commissioner for a colony.^[2][4]
• 216 BC – The triumviri mensarii are appointed for public finance, as Livy reports.^[2]
• 43 BC – Antony, Octavian and Lepidus become the triumvirs for restoring the state.^[2]
• mid-15th century – English borrows it as triumvir.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A member of a board of three officials, especially one of the triumviri capitales, who had charge of prisons and executions.^[2][3]
2. A member of a board of three for the mint, for founding a colony and dividing its land, for public finance, or for some other task.^[2][7][8]
3. One of the three men (Antony, Octavian and Lepidus) appointed in 43 BC to restore the state; a triumvir.^[2][7]
4. The title of various local magistrates in the provinces and of officials of the Augustales.^[2]
5. An officer of a guild of slaves.^[2]
6. (Medieval Latin) A title of dignity or office.^[9]

Related words

• decemvir
• English triumvir

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
7. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press