vendibilis

Forms

vēndibilis (neuter vēndibile); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin vēndō (“to sell”) + -bilis.^[2][1][3] De Vaan explains the verb as a contracted form of ⟨vēnum dare⟩, “to give for sale”, built on vēnum, which goes back to Proto-Italic *wesno- and Proto-Indo-European *ues-no- (“price”).^[4] Cognate with Sanskrit वस्न (vasná-, “price, value”) and Ancient Greek ὦνος (ônos, “price”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Varro,^[4] who uses the comparative of what makes land easier to sell;^[5][6] Cicero, in his speeches on the agrarian law, calls the Herculanean road saleable.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense is saleable, easily sold: Horace uses it of a farm, Columella of the young of animals and Pliny the Elder of goods.^[5][6] Cicero took it over for what is acceptable to public taste: an orator who pleases the crowd, a speaker who was not popular enough with the people, a speech made to please many, and the remark that some things may sell better while others are richer.^[2][5][7] Ovid uses it of a girl who has become popular.^[5][6]

Ammianus Marcellinus uses it of soldiers who could be bought, and Jerome has the adverb vendibiliter.^[6][8][5] It survives in Italian ⟨vendibile⟩ and Spanish ⟨vendible⟩.^[1]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro uses the comparative of land.^[5][4][9]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a saleable road and of a popular orator.^[2][5][9]
• 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of a farm.^[5][9]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of a popular girl.^[5][9]
• c. 390 AD – Ammianus Marcellinus uses it of soldiers open to bribes.^[6][9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. That can be sold easily, saleable, marketable.^[2][5]
2. (figurative) Acceptable to public taste, popular, pleasing.^[2][7][8]
3. (Late Latin) Venal, open to bribes.^[6][8]

Related words

• venalis
• veneo

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de