voluptarius

Forms

voluptārius (feminine voluptāria, neuter voluptārium); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin voluptās (“pleasure”) + -ārius.^[2][1][3] De Vaan lists it among the words built on the adverb volup (“agreeably”), the base of voluptās.^[4] He suggests that ⟨volup⟩ might continue Proto-Italic *w(e/o)lpi (“hopefully”), the neuter of an i-stem Proto-Indo-European *u(e/o)lp-i (“hope, pleasure”), which would also account for Ancient Greek ἐλπίς (elpís, “hope”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Plautus,^[4][3] who speaks of pleasant and delightful things, ex amoenīs rēbus et voluptāriīs,^[2] and calls the people of Epidamnus great pleasure-lovers and drinkers.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Cicero uses it of things that serve pleasure, such as estates kept for enjoyment, of taste as the sense most given to pleasure, and of discussions about pleasure;^[2][6][5] applied to people it means devoted to pleasure, and Cicero calls Epicurus a homō voluptārius and the Epicurean teaching a doctrine of pleasure.^[2][7] Seneca speaks of a pleasure trip and calls mushrooms a delicious poison.^[7][5] Later writers have the form voluptuārius,^[6] and Fulgentius and Boethius use voluptāria vīta of a life given to enjoyment.^[7] In medieval Britain it is used of spending on pleasure as against necessary expense.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of pleasant things and pleasure-loving people.^[2][3]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero calls Epicurus voluptārius.^[2][6][3]
• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca writes of a peregrīnātiō voluptāria.^[7][3]
• 1298 – A Canterbury register uses voluptuārius of appetite, set against the needs of the sick.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Concerned with sensual pleasure; pleasant, delightful.^[2][6][5]
2. Serving only for pleasure, luxurious.^[2][7][8]
3. Dealing with the subject of pleasure.^[2][7]
4. Devoted to pleasure, pleasure-loving, voluptuous; used of the Epicureans.^[2][6][7]

Related words

• voluptās
• volup

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
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