vel Latin · revision 17799

18 Oct 2026, 18:44 by bogdan “Latin la10k: liceo, igitur, legio, ullus, post, vel, deinde”
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+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=c. 235–200 BC, Naevius|origins=la volō}}
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈwɛɫ]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈvɛl]^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Forms==
+ '''vel''' ^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is an old form of [[volō|t=to wish]], “if you wish, choose”.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan and Wiktionary take it as the second person singular present, ⟨*welsi⟩ > ⟨*well⟩ > ⟨vel⟩, “you wish”; the OLD and Lewis & Short call it an old imperative.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ It is found from Naevius on.^(Köbler 2010)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ ''Vel'' offers a choice left to the hearer (“or if you like”), and joins alternatives that do not exclude each other (''vel … vel'' “either … or”), unlike ''[[aut]]''.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) It also introduces a more exact term (“or rather”, ''vel dīcam'' “or should I say”), a suggestion (“perhaps”), and an extreme case (“even”).^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Stelten 1995)
+ 
+ In Medieval Latin it could mean “at least” and simply “and”.^(Niermeyer 1976) The compound ''[[velut]]'' “just as” is formed from it.^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 235–200 BC – First found in Naevius.^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero: ''tū vellem ego vel cuperem adessēs'', “I wish, or rather long, that you were here”.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * c. 550–1150 – Medieval Latin uses it for “and” and “at least”.^(Niermeyer 1976)
+ 
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Conjunction===
+ # [[m|en|or]] (if you like); ''vel … vel'', either … or.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)
+ # Or rather.^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ===Adverb===
+ # Even; perhaps; for instance.^(OLD 2012)^(Stelten 1995)
+ # At any rate, even if only.^(OLD 2012)
+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' At least; and.^(Niermeyer 1976)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[velut]]
+ * [[velutī]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[aut]]
+ * [[volō]]
+ * [[-ve]]
+ * [[sīve]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}