Etymologically
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unda

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈʊn.da][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈun.da][1]

Forms

unda f (genitive undae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *udōr, from the oblique stem Proto-Indo-European *ud-n- of Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ (“water”).[2][1] De Vaan and Wiktionary take it from a collective Proto-Indo-European *udnom (“body of water”), reinterpreted as a feminine, with /dn/ turned into /nd/.[2][1] Cognate with Umbrian utur (“water”), Old Irish uisce (“water”), Hittite watar (“water”), Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”), Lithuanian vanduõ (“water”), Old Church Slavonic вода (voda, “water”) and Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐍄𐍉 (watō, “water”).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Livius Andronicus uses it.[2] Köbler dates Livius Andronicus 280/260–before 200 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it was a wave, as Plautus' sea full of waves, a river or spring, flowing water and water in general, and a flow of other liquids, such as blood in Virgil.[3][5] It was used of a surging crowd, and in architecture of a wavy moulding.[3] Döderlein says that aqua is water as a substance and unda water in motion.[6]

Medieval writers used it of waves, also figuratively.[7] It survives as Italian onda, French onde, Spanish onda and Romanian undă.[1] Its derivative abundō “to overflow” gave English abound, and inundātiō gave inundation.[8]

Timeline

  • 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses it.[2][4]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of a sea full of waves.[3][4]
  • early 14th century – English abound is recorded, from abundāre.[8]
  • early 15th century – English inundation is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A wave, billow.[3][9]
  2. A river, stream, spring.[3]
  3. Water.[3]
  4. A flow (of blood or another liquid).[3]
  5. A surging crowd.[3]
  6. (architecture) A wavy moulding.[3]

Word family

  • undābundus
  • undātim
  • undātus
  • undicola
  • undifragus
  • undisonus
  • undivagus
  • undō
  • undōsus
  • undula
  • exundō
  • inundō
  • English abound
  • English inundation
  • English undulate
  • English water

Usage notes

Isidore defines unda as water rising up that is always in motion.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).