vibex

Forms

vībex f (genitive vībīcis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[2] The OLD tentatively compares Latvian vībele.^[2] Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Indo-European *weyb- (“to oscillate, swing”) and compares vibrō (“to shake, brandish”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest record is a fragment of Plautus quoted by Varro, in the spelling viu-,^[2][3] and a fragment of Cato quoted by Nonius.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

It always meant the mark left by a blow or a lash, a weal.^[2][3] Pliny the Elder, Persius and Apuleius use it,^[3] and Festus explains it.^[3] A scholiast on Persius has vibex for the plant name vitex.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – A fragment of Plautus, quoted by Varro, has it.^[2][5]
• 234–149 BC – Cato uses it in a fragment quoted by Nonius.^[3][5]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it.^[3][5]
• 34–62 AD – Persius uses it.^[3][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A weal or welt, the mark of a blow or a lash.^[2][3]

Usage notes

It is also spelled vibix,^[3][6] and Varro has a spelling with viu-.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn