minus Latin · revision 17810

18 Oct 2026, 18:55 by bogdan “Latin la10k batch la75b-02” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 450 BC, Twelve Tables|origins=ine-pro *meih₁-}}
+ 
+ ==Forms==
+ '''minus''' (neuter of the comparative ''[[minor]]'', genitive ''minōris''; comparative adverb)^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is the neuter of the comparative [[minor]] “smaller, less”, used as a noun and as an adverb.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) De Vaan explains ⟨minor⟩ from the old comparative [[ine-pro|*meih₁-iōs-|t=less]], remodelled in Italic after the nasal present ⟨*minu-⟩ “to lessen” (see [[minuō]]), giving [[itc-pro|*minōs|t=less]].^(de Vaan 2008)
+ 
+ Compare [[got|𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍃|tr=mins|t=less]], [[grc|μείων|tr=meíōn|t=smaller]] and [[cu|мьнии|tr=mĭnii|t=smaller, younger]].^(de Vaan 2008)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ It is found in the Twelve Tables;^(Köbler 2010) Plautus has ''quantō ego plūs properō, prōcēdit minus'', “the more I hurry, the less I get on”.^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ As a noun ''minus'' is “a smaller amount, less”, and before numbers it means “less than” without ''quam''.^(OLD 2012) As an adverb it means “less, to a smaller degree”, with an ablative of difference “fewer by” (''ūnō minus teste'' “with one witness fewer”).^(OLD 2012) ''Nōn minus'' or ''haud minus'' means “no less, just as much”, ''nihilōminus'' “nevertheless”, and ''quōminus'' introduces clauses of hindering.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ It is also a softened negative, “not, not at all”.^(Stelten 1995) In Medieval Latin ''minus venīre'' meant “to be missing” and, impersonally, “to die”.^(Niermeyer 1976)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 450 BC – Used in the Twelve Tables.^(Köbler 2010)
+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: ''prōcēdit minus''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 190–159 BC – Terence: ''haec rēs nōn minus mē male habet quam tē'', “this troubles me no less than you”.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero: ''ūnō minus teste''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ 
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A smaller amount, [[m|en|less]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)
+ # ''(before numbers, without quam)'' Less than.^(OLD 2012)
+ 
+ ===Adverb===
+ # Less, to a smaller degree.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)
+ # ''(with ablative)'' Fewer, less (by so many).^(OLD 2012)
+ # ''nōn minus'', ''haud minus'', no less, just as much.^(OLD 2012)
+ # Not, not at all, by no means.^(Stelten 1995)
+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' ''minus venīre'', to be missing; to die.^(Niermeyer 1976)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[nihilōminus]]
+ * [[quōminus]]
+ * [[minusculus]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[minor]]
+ * [[minuō]]
+ * [[minimus]]
+ * [[parvus]]
+ * [[plūs]]
+ 
+ ==Usage notes==
+ The OLD records a rare adjective ''minus'', ''-a'', ''-um'' of uncertain origin, which Varro uses of sheep, apparently meaning “smooth, bald”.^(OLD 2012)^(TLL)
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}