Etymologically
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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈwiːs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈvis][1]

Forms

vīs f (genitive vīs); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *wīs, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *wiH-s (“strength”).[2][1] It was traditionally analysed as an s-stem with the root of vir “man”, but de Vaan prefers an old root noun, which explains the Greek and Latin forms better.[2] Cognate with Ancient Greek ἴς (ís, “strength”), Homeric Ancient Greek ἶφι (îphi, “by force”) and Sanskrit वयस् (váyas, “vigour”).[2][3] The plural vīrēs was formed on the analogy of words like mōrēs.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan and Köbler date it from Livius Andronicus.[2][4] In Plautus a slave says “force makes me confess the truth, the thongs so hurt my arms”.[3] Köbler dates Livius Andronicus 280/260–before 200 BC.[4]

Semantic evolution

It was physical force used on something, especially to constrain, and so violence, including rape, unlawful force in law, violence in public life, and military force.[3] It was also any forceful movement, as of bulls or a storm, and with a genitive a large number of people or animals.[3] It was the power or influence of a person, a god or a law, and the potency of a remedy.[3] The plural vīrēs meant bodily strength, military strength, and resources.[3] Of things it meant their essence, and of words their meaning, as Cicero's vīs vocābulī.[3]

Roman law separated vīs prīvāta from vīs pūblica, and Isidore defines both.[3][5] Medieval lawyers used the phrase vī et armīs “by force and arms”.[6] English vim, first found in 1843, is usually said to come from its accusative vim.[7]

Timeline

  • 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses it.[2][4]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has a slave confess under force.[3][4]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore defines vīs prīvāta and vīs pūblica.[5][4]
  • 1843 – English vim is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Force, violence.[3]
  2. (law) Unlawful force.[3]
  3. Military force.[3]
  4. Forceful movement, impetus.[3]
  5. A large number (of people or animals).[3]
  6. Power, influence, (of laws) binding force, (of remedies) potency.[3]
  7. (plural vīrēs) Bodily strength; military strength; resources.[3]
  8. Essence (of a thing); meaning (of a word).[3]

Word family

Usage notes

Vīs is also the second person singular present of volō “you want”.[8] Döderlein contrasts vīs and rōbur, strength inside a person or thing, with potentia and potestās, power exercised over others.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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 f g h i j k l m n o p q r Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  9. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper