vae

Forms

vae ^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *wai, a cry of pain.^[2][3][1] De Vaan thinks that it and its cognates are probably independent onomatopoeic forms, though shared inheritance cannot be ruled out;^[2][1] Wiktionary traces them to Proto-Indo-European *wáy.^[2][1] Cognate with Welsh gwae (“alas”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌹 (wai, “woe”), Old English wā (“woe”) and English woe.^[2][1][3] Lewis & Short compare Ancient Greek οὐαί (ouaí, “alas”).^[4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,^[2][5] who uses it with the dative in cries of anguish and in curses, as in the Asinaria: “woe to the man who watched the door so carelessly!”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It is a cry of pain or dread, alas!, mostly with the dative of the person concerned and rarely with the accusative, as Catullus' “wretched girl, woe to you!”.^[3][4] It can stand on its own in a sentence, as in Virgil's “Mantua, alas, too near to wretched Cremona”.^[3][4] In denunciations it means bad luck to, so much the worse for, and vae victīs “woe to the conquered” was the cry attributed to Brennus after he took Rome, which Livy calls a phrase the Romans could not bear.^[3][4] It is also a mere imprecation, as Plautus' “curses on you, you mouse-killer”.^[3] Church Latin uses it for woe, alas, showing pain or dread.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus in cries of anguish and curses.^[3][2][5]
• 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus with the accusative.^[4][5]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil of Mantua near Cremona.^[3][5]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy reports Brennus' vae victīs.^[4][5]

Meanings

Interjection

1. Alas!, woe!, a cry of pain or dread, usually with the dative.^[3][4][6][1]
2. In denunciations, bad luck to!, so much the worse for!;^[3][4] vae victīs, woe to the conquered.^[3][4]
3. As a curse.^[3]

Related words

• English woe

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson