uspiam

Forms

uspiam (not comparable)^[1]

Etymology

It is probably from Latin ut (“as, so that”) + -pe + iam (“now, already”),^[2][3] with ⟨ut⟩ enlarged by /s/, as in Oscan puz and Umbrian puze (“as, so that”).^[2][3] The ending is the same as in quispiam, and usquam is formed alike with ⟨-quam⟩.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus on,^[3] in a line asking to look around first in case there is an ambush anywhere.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It means somewhere or anywhere, especially in conditional clauses, as in Cicero's “whether that law is written somewhere or nowhere”.^[2][4] Lewis & Short call it rare but classical, used mostly in affirmative clauses, in contrast to usquam.^[4] After negatives it is found in Livy and Apuleius, and Apuleius has it with a partitive genitive (uspiam gentium).^[2]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of an ambush anywhere.^[2][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it in conditional clauses.^[2][4][5]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it after a negative.^[2][5]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it with a partitive genitive.^[2][5]

Meanings

Adverb

1. Somewhere, anywhere.^[2][4]
2. After negatives, anywhere (else).^[2]

Related words

• quispiam
• usquam
• nusquam
• usque

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de