Etymologically
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tumultus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [tʊˈmʊɫ.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [tuˈmul.tus][1]

Forms

tumultus m (genitive tumultūs); fourth declension[1] Early writers (Ennius, Plautus, Terence, Accius) have the genitive tumultī.[2][3]

Etymology

It is derived from tumeō (“to swell”), but how it was formed is obscure.[2][4] De Vaan lists it among the derivatives of tumeō, since its meaning suggests it belongs there; he rejects Leumann's ⟨*tumulitus⟩ from a verb ⟨*tumulāre⟩, and notes that Walde's idea of imitation of singultus (“sobbing”) lacks a clear model.[4] tumeō goes back to Proto-Italic *tum-ē- and Proto-Indo-European *tum-eh₁- (“to be swelling”).[4] The OLD and Wiktionary compare Sanskrit तुमुल (tumula, “noisy; uproar”).[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Naevius,[4][5] who writes magnae metūs tumultus pectora possīdit, “the turmoil of great fear takes hold of their hearts”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Tumultus is “commotion, uproar, confused noise” (Plautus: quis sonitū ac tumultū tantō nōminat mē?, “who is calling me with so much noise and uproar?”), also the din of a hostile audience or of applause, and of wild oratory.[2][3][1] At Rome it was a sudden outbreak of violence, a rising or an incursion close at hand that required citizens to be called to arms, and in war a sudden attack.[2][1] It is “panic, alarm” (Cicero, of the alarm he might have caused the city), turmoil of the elements or in the body, a storm, disturbance of the mind, and muddle, confusion in an activity.[2][1]

Church Latin glosses it “tumult, noise, confusion, uproar”.[6] English tumult comes from it, partly through Old French, in the late 14th century.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 235–200 BC – Naevius: magnae metūs tumultus.[2][5]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: sonitū ac tumultū tantō.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of the alarm in the city.[2][5]
  • late 14th century – English tumult.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. commotion, uproar, confused noise.[2][3][1][6]
  2. A sudden rising, insurrection; an emergency war near home.[2][1]
  3. (military) A sudden attack.[2]
  4. panic, alarm.[2][1]
  5. Turmoil (of nature or the body); a storm.[2][1]
  6. Agitation, disturbance of mind.[2][1]
  7. Confusion, muddle.[2][1]

Word family

  • tumultuārius
  • tumultuōsus
  • tumultuātim
  • tumultuor
  • tumultuāriē
  • tumultuātiō
  • tumultuō
  • tumultuōsē
  • tumeō
  • tumulus
  • tumor
  • English tumult

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com