meus Latin · revision 17834

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Old Latin inscriptions (Garigliano Bowl)|origins=ine-pro *h₁me}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈme.ʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmɛː.us]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''meus''' (feminine mea, neuter meum); first/second-declension determiner, with locative^(Wiktionary)

+ The spelling ''mius'' appears in inscriptions, and the grammarian Velius Longus cites it as an archaism.^(OLD 2012)

+ The masculine vocative is ''mī'';^(Lewis & Short 1879) Virgil also uses ''meus'' as a vocative (''sanguis meus'').^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ Plautus has a genitive plural ''meūm'' for ''meōrum'', and the emphatic forms ''meāpte'' and ''meōpte''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*mejo-|t=my]], a possessive adjective built on the oblique stem of the first-person pronoun ([[mē]], see [[ego]]).^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan takes ⟨*mejo-⟩ as a thematization of the old genitive ⟨*mei⟩, perhaps a remake of [[ine-pro|*h₁moi|t=of me]]; the genitive ⟨meī⟩ that serves the personal pronoun is in fact the genitive of the possessive.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ The OLD compares the enclitic possessive [[hit|-meš]].^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Its first record is the ablative plural ''meois'' on the Garigliano Bowl, an Old Latin inscription.^(de Vaan 2008) In literature it is found from Naevius on;^(Köbler 2010) Plautus has ''appellat meō mē nōmine'' “he calls me by my name”.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Meus'' means “my, mine” of anything possessed or used by the speaker, and emphatically “my own”; the neuter ''meum'' is “my property”, and ''meā rēfert'' or ''meā interest'' “it concerns me”.^(OLD 2012) Of persons it means “related to me, my friend or dependant”: it is added to the name of a friend or relative (''Catō meus''), the feminine ''mea'' is “my girl, my sweetheart”, the masculine plural ''meī'' “my family, my household”, and it is common in addresses (''mī Aeschine'').^(OLD 2012)

+

+ It also stands for a subjective or objective genitive (''meā causā'' “for my sake”), and with the infinitive ''meum est'' means “it is my task” or “it is like me” (''nōn est meum'' “it is not my way”).^(OLD 2012) In comedy ''meus est'' means “he is in my power”.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Old Latin – The ablative plural ''meois'' on the Garigliano Bowl.^(de Vaan 2008)

+ * c. 235–200 BC – Found in Naevius.^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: ''meus hic est, hāmum vorat'', “he is mine, he is swallowing the hook”.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 190–159 BC – Terence uses the vocative: ''ō mī Aeschine''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil uses the nominative as a vocative: ''sanguis meus''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Determiner===

+ # [[m|en|my]], [[m|en|mine]];^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) ''(emphatic)'' my own.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(neuter as noun)'' My property;^(OLD 2012) ''dē meō'', at my expense.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''meā rēfert'', ''meā interest'', it is of concern to me;^(OLD 2012) ''quid meā?'', what is that to me?^(OLD 2012)

+ # Related to me, my (friend, relative, servant).^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(feminine as noun)'' My girl, my [[m|en|sweetheart]];^(OLD 2012) ''(masculine as noun)'' my master.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(masculine plural as noun)'' My family, my household.^(OLD 2012)

+ # Done or felt by me;^(OLD 2012) written or said by me.^(OLD 2012)

+ # Felt towards me, concerning me.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''meum est'' (with infinitive), it is my task;^(OLD 2012) it is my way.^(OLD 2012)

+ # In my power.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ego]]

+ * [[mē]]

+ * [[noster]]

+ * [[tuus]]

+ * [[suus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}