versus
versus1 line, verse
Pronunciation
Forms
versus m (genitive versūs); fourth declension[1] Plautus has vorsus, a spelling used later as a rare archaism.[2]
Etymology
The noun is from vertō “to turn” with the suffix -tus, which forms action nouns: it was first a turning, then the furrow where the plough turns.[2][1] The verb goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wert- (“to turn”).[1][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, probably of a twirl in a dance.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[3]
Semantic evolution
From a turn, the word came to mean the strip of ground a plough covers before it turns, a furrow, as in Columella, and then any row or line of things, as in Varro.[2] Cicero used it of a line of writing, and Ennius already of a line of verse, the sense that became the usual one.[2] Isidore explained that lines were called versūs because the ancients wrote as land is ploughed, turning back at the end of each line.[4]
In Medieval Latin it was a verse of the Bible said at the beginning or end of the Office, and a line of a charter.[5] Old English borrowed it early as fers, and late Old English vers, reinforced by Old French vers, gave English verse.[6]
Timeline
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a turn in a dance.[2][3]
- 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of a line of verse.[2][3]
- 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of a row.[2][3]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a line of writing.[2][3]
- c. 560–636 AD – Isidore links it with ploughing.[4][3]
Meanings
Noun
- A turn or twirl in a dance.[2]
- A furrow.[2][7]
- A row, line.[2]
- A line of writing.[2]
- A line of verse, (plural) verses, poetry.[2][8]
- (Medieval Latin) A versicle of the Office; a line of a charter.[5]
Word family
- versiculus
- versificō
versus2 towards
Pronunciation
Forms
versus (not comparable)[1] Also versum, vorsus, vorsum; the vors- forms are those of Plautus, Terence, Cato and early inscriptions.[2]
Etymology
The adverb is the participle versus (“turned”) of vertō “to turn”, used adverbially, “turned towards”.[2][1] Its older form ⟨vorsus⟩ goes back to Proto-Italic *worssos, from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥ttós.[1]
Earliest recorded meaning
The OLD cites Plautus, Terence and Cato for the old forms in vors-.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[3]
Semantic evolution
It meant in the direction of, towards, often after another adverb (sursum versus “upwards”) or after a noun in the accusative, as in Cicero's Helōrum versus “towards Helorum”.[2][7]
In Medieval Latin it became a preposition, “against”.[5] English took it from that use as a legal term, English versus, in the mid-15th century, of one party against another.[6] It survives in French vers and Italian verso “towards”.[1]
Timeline
- c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses the form vorsus.[2][3]
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it after town names.[2][3]
- mid-15th century – English versus is recorded in law.[6]
Meanings
Adverb
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
- ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
- ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press