vitus

Forms

vītus m (genitive vītūs); fourth declension^[1]

Etymology

Wiktionary takes it as inherited from Proto-Italic *weitus or *wītus, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *wéh₁itus, from the root *weh₁y- (“to twist, twine”).^[1] Walde likewise connected it with vieō (“to plait”),^[2] and Köbler with the root Proto-Indo-European *u̯ei- (“to turn, bend”).^[3][4]

Cognate with Ancient Greek ἴτυς (ítus, “felloe”).^[1][2] Georges lists a by-form ⟨vitys⟩ from the grammarian Terentianus Maurus, who says that what the Achaeans call by the Greek word, the Aeolians call ⟨vitym⟩.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is known only from the grammarians and glossaries:^[5][6] Probus, in his Instituta artium and its appendix, and Remmius Palaemon cite it for the felloe of a wheel.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

The glossaries translate it with Greek ἴτυς (ítus) and ἄντυξ (ántux),^[7] and Du Cange explains it as a bend (flexura).^[8]

Timeline

• 4th century AD – Probus cites it in his Instituta artium.^[5][6][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The felloe, the rim of a wheel.^[5][6][1]

Usage notes

Georges gives it as feminine, Gaffiot and Wiktionary as masculine.^[5][6][1] The personal name Vitus (genitive Vitī) is connected instead with vīta “life”.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Walde, Alois (1906), Lateinisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter
3. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
5. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
6. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ Goetz, Georg (1888–1923), Corpus glossariorum Latinorum, Leipzig: Teubner; vols. VI–VII Thesaurus glossarum emendatarum, digital ed. CGLO, Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre