Etymologically
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ubertas

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [uːˈbɛr.taːs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [uˈbɛr.tas][1]

Forms

ūbertās f (genitive ūbertātis); third declension[1] Coins and Ulpian also have ūberitās.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin ūber (“fertile, rich”) + -tās.[3][1] De Vaan derives the adjective from the noun ūber (“udder, teat”), which he traces to Proto-Italic *ouþ-r- and Proto-Indo-European *h₁ouHdʰ-r̥ (“udder”).[4] Cognate with Sanskrit ऊधर् (ū́dhar, “udder”), Ancient Greek οὖθαρ (oûthar, “udder”) and Old English ūder (“udder”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Ennius.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

It is the productiveness of soil and plants, and fruitful growth: Cicero quotes what country people say of plants in full growth.[3] Cicero also uses it of milk, of an abundance of anything, even of scoundrels, and of a rich flow of language and richness of content.[3][2] Lewis & Short give fēcunditās and cōpia as synonyms.[2] Coins have the form ⟨VBERITAS⟩, and Ulpian ⟨uberitas⟩.[2][3] Church Latin glosses it fullness, fruitfulness, abundance.[6]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it.[4][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of fertile soil, of milk, and of a rich style.[3][5]
  • before 223 AD – Ulpian has uberitas.[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Fruitfulness, fertility of soil and plants; fruitful growth.[3][2][1][6]
  2. Plenty, abundance of anything.[3][2][1]
  3. A copious flow of milk or other liquids.[3]
  4. Richness of language or style; richness of content.[3][2]

Word family

  • ūbertō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University 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