Etymologically
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voluptarius

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [wɔ.ɫʊpˈtaː.ri.ʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [vo.lupˈtaː.ri.us][1]

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]

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