Etymologically
Log in

uncinus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 25 October 2026 at 00:38. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ʊŋˈkiː.nʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [un̠ʲˈt͡ʃiː.nus][1]

Forms

uncīnus m (genitive uncīnī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin uncus (“hook”) + -īnus;[2][3][4] Wiktionary calls it a diminutive of the noun.[1] The base goes back to Proto-Italic *onko- and Proto-Indo-European *h2onḱ-o- (“hook”).[5] Cognate with Sanskrit अङ्क (aṅká-, “hook, clamp”) and Ancient Greek ὄγκος (ónkos, “barb of an arrow”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Vitruvius is the first author the dictionaries cite for it,[3][6][7] with an iron hook (uncinus ferreus).[3]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short treat it as a late word that took the place of uncus for a hook or barb.[8] Apuleius and Palladius use it,[3][8] Isidore of Seville speaks of hooks of iron or of wood,[3] an inscription lists poles with hooks (perticae XII uncinorum),[3] and the Vulgate has it in Exodus.[8]

In British Medieval Latin it is still a hook, also in figurative use: Bede writes of hooks with golden chains hanging from them, and of the hook of good works (boni operis uncinus).[9] It lives on in Italian uncino.[7][10]

Timeline

  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius writes of iron hooks.[3][11]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it in the Metamorphoses.[3][6][11]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it in Exodus.[8][11]
  • end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century AD – Palladius uses it.[3][11]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville mentions hooks of iron or wood.[3][11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A hook.[2][8][3]
  2. A barb.[8][3]

Word family

  • uncīnātus

Usage notes

Paulinus of Nola uses it as an adjective in uncinus hamus, a barbed hook;[8][3][7] Gaffiot lists this as a separate adjective meaning “hooked, curved”.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  11. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de