Etymologically
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vos

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈwoːs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈvɔs][1]

Forms

vōs [1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *wōs (“you”), inherited from Proto-Indo-European *uōs, originally the stressed accusative; the old nominative ⟨*iuH(s)⟩ was replaced by it, apparently already in Proto-Italic.[2][1] The genitive ⟨vestrum⟩ was first the genitive plural of vester and was later replaced by ⟨vestrī⟩.[2]

Cognate with Faliscan ues, Paelignian uus, Sanskrit वः (vaḥ), Avestan vō and Old Church Slavonic вы (vy).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in the Twelve Tables and, from Livius Andronicus on.[2]

Semantic evolution

Vōs is the plural of tū: “you, ye”.[3][1] Of the genitives, vestrum is usually partitive and vestrī objective;[3][2] Livius Andronicus and Plautus also have vostrōrum and vostrārum.[3][2] With cum it forms vōbīscum.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 450 BC – Used in the Twelve Tables.[2]
  • c. 280–200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses the genitive vostrōrum.[3][4]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses the genitive vestrī.[2][4]

Meanings

Pronoun

  1. you (plural), ye.[3][1]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de