Etymologically
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vespertinus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [wɛs.pɛrˈtiː.nʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ves.perˈtiː.nus][1]

Forms

vespertīnus (feminine vespertīna, neuter vespertīnum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin vesper (“evening”) + -tīnus.[2][3] Wiktionary instead gives the suffix as -īnus, with the ⟨t⟩ perhaps from mātūtīnus (“of the morning”).[1] De Vaan traces the noun to Proto-Italic *we(k)spero- and Proto-Indo-European *ue-k(w)sp-er-o- (“evening”), a compound of an element *ue- and a word for night; the first element is hard to explain.[3] Cognates are Welsh ucher (“evening”), Ancient Greek ἕσπερος (hésperos, “evening”) and Lithuanian vãkaras (“evening”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Varro on:[3] he writes that sheep graze again in the evening air.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Cicero speaks of the evening hours, of letters received in the evening and of decrees of the senate passed in the evening.[5][4] Pliny the Elder uses it of dim sight in the evening and of the cock's evening crowing.[5] Horace uses it with the force of an adverb, of a guest who arrives in the evening, and also of the west.[2][5][4] Vitruvius too uses it of the western region of the sky.[5][6]

In Medieval Latin it is used of Vespers, and the neuter plural vespertina is Vespers itself.[7] Medieval writers in Britain use it of the evening and, in church and monastic use, of the office of Vespers;[8] Bede speaks of the psalmody of the evening praise.[8] English borrowed it as vespertine.[9]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of the evening air.[2][10]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of evening letters and decrees.[5][10]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of the west.[2][10]
  • mid-15th century – English borrows it as vespertine.[9]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of the evening, happening in the evening;[2][5] (with the force of an adverb) in the evening.[2][4]
  2. Western.[2][5][4]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Of Vespers;[7][8] vespertina, Vespers.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  8. ^ a b c 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
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de