Etymologically
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verres

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈwɛr.reːs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈvɛr.res][1]

Forms

verrēs m (genitive verris); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *wors-en-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wr̥s-en- (“male”).[2][1] Cognate with Sanskrit वृषन् (vṛ́ṣan, “manly; male animal”), Ancient Greek ἄρσην (ársēn, “male”) and Lithuanian ver̃šis (“bull calf”).[2][3] The nominative is a remodelling of an expected *verrē, from *werrēn.[2][1] The root might be *wers- “to rise”, unless the word for “male” began with a laryngeal.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant an uncastrated male pig, a boar, as in Varro, who also has the nominative verris, and Columella.[3][5][6] Cicero punned on it with the name of Verres, the governor of Sicily he prosecuted.[6] Döderlein says sūs is the general word for swine, and verrēs, scrōfa and porcus are farmers' words.[7]

In Medieval Latin it was a boar.[8] It survives in Romanian vier and French verrat.[1]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[2][4]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of boars.[3][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero puns on the name Verres.[6][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A boar, uncastrated male pig.[3]

Usage notes

Verrēs is also the name of Gaius Verres, prosecuted by Cicero in 70 BC for his misgovernment of Sicily.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  8. ^ 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