Etymologically
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ultimus

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈʊɫ.tɪ.mʊs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈul.ti.mus][1]

Forms

ultimus (superlative, feminine ultima, neuter ultimum); first/second declension[1] Also spelled ultumus.[2]

Etymology

It is the superlative of ⟨*ulter⟩ “beyond” (comparative ulterior), inherited from Proto-Italic *oltamo-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ol-tm̥Ho- (“furthest, last”).[3][2][1] Cognate with Oscan ⟨últiumam⟩ “last”.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of what is farthest away.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant most distant, farthest, as in Plautus and Lucretius; remotest in time, earliest, as in the Rhetorica ad Herennium; latest, final, as in Cicero; last in order, the end of a sentence, as in Horace; bringing the last stage, final, critical, as in Caesar; extreme in degree, as in Propertius; ultimate, beyond further analysis, as in Cicero; and lowest in worth, meanest, as in Horace.[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant farthest, last, extreme, final, and the neuter plural the last things.[5] Late Latin ultimāre “to come to an end”, from it, gave English ultimate (1650s), and Medieval Latin ultimātum “a final statement” gave English ultimatum (1731).[6] It survives in Italian ultimo and Spanish último.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the final and ultimate.[2][4]
  • 1650s – English ultimate is recorded.[6]
  • 1731 – English ultimatum is recorded.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Most distant, Farthest.[2]
  2. Earliest, remotest in time.[2]
  3. Last, final, ultimate; critical.[2]
  4. Extreme in degree.[2]
  5. Lowest, meanest.[2]

Word family

  • ultimum
  • paenultimus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com