Etymologically
Log in

vernus

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 19 October 2026 at 17:57. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈweːr.nʊs], [ˈwɛr.nʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈvɛr.nus][1]

Forms

vē̆rnus (feminine vē̆rna, neuter vē̆rnum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin vēr (“spring”) + -nus.[2][1] De Vaan explains it either as continuing an older Proto-Italic *wesinos or, with Nussbaum, as made from a locative *vēri-no-;[3][1] Wiktionary notes that the details of the derivation differ between sources.[3][1] He traces vēr to *wes-or and Proto-Indo-European *ues-r/n- (“spring”).[3] Cognate with Sanskrit वसन्त (vasantá-, “spring”), Ancient Greek ἔαρ (éar, “spring”), Lithuanian vãsara (“summer”) and Old Norse vár (“spring”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Livius Andronicus.[4] It means of or occurring in spring.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is the ordinary adjective for things of the spring: the spring season in Lucretius and Cicero, the spring equinox in Livy and Varro, spring winds in Horace.[5][2] It is also used of permanent things as they are in spring, of plants that ripen or are sown in spring, as Celsus' spring lettuce, and of things built for use in spring, as Vitruvius' spring dining rooms facing east.[2]

Timeline

  • 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses it.[4]
  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius of the spring season.[5][4]
  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius of dining rooms for use in spring.[2][4]
  • 14–37 AD – Celsus of spring lettuce.[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or occurring in spring, vernal.[2][5][1]
  2. Such as it is in spring.[2]
  3. Of plants, ripening or sown in spring.[2]
  4. Built or used for the spring.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  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 e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press