uncia

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈuːŋ.ki.a], [ˈʊŋ.ki.a]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈun̠ʲ.t͡ʃi.a]^[1]

Forms

ū̆ncia f (genitive ū̆nciae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

The OLD derives it from ūnus “one”, and Wiktionary, building on Varro, from ūnicus “unique” with the suffix -ia, a twelfth being the unit of many Roman measures.^[2][1] Lewis and Short compare Ancient Greek οὐγκία (ounkía), the Sicilian form of the word.^[3] Isidore says it is named because it binds the smaller weights together with its unity.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation for the weight is from Plautus.^[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a twelfth of any unit, as in Horace, and in inheritances ex unciā “for one twelfth of the estate”, as in Cicero and Ulpian; in reckoning interest it was a twelfth of one per cent a month.^[2][3] Specifically it was a twelfth of a pound or of an as (about 27 g), from Plautus; a twelfth of a foot (about 25 mm), as in Pliny the Elder; and a twelfth of a iūgerum, as in Varro.^[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant an inch or an ounce.^[7] Medieval Latin used it as a weight of gold and as a money of account, twelve to the pound.^[8] It was borrowed early into Old English as ynce, whence English inch, and through Old French unce it gave English ounce in the early 14th century.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it as a weight.^[2][5]
• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of a twelfth of a iūgerum.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses ex unciā of an inheritance.^[3][5]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it as a measure of length.^[2][5]
• early 14th century – English ounce is recorded.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A twelfth part of a whole; in inheritances, one twelfth of the estate.^[2]
2. A twelfth of a pound or as, an ounce.^[2]
3. A twelfth of a foot, an inch.^[2]
4. A twelfth of a iūgerum.^[2]
5. (Medieval Latin) A money of account, a twelfth of a pound.^[8]

Word family

• sēmū̆ncia
• triuncis
• unciālis
• ūnciātim
• unciola
• quīncū̆nx
• sēscū̆ncia
• terrūncius
• terū̆ncius
• deū̆nx
• septū̆nx

Related words

• ūnus
• ūnicus
• English ounce
• English inch

References

1. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com