vultus Latin · revision 17890

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=ine-pro *wel-tu-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈwʊɫ.tʊs], [ˈwʊɫ.tuːs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈvul.tus], [ˈvul.tus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vultus''' ''m'' (genitive vultūs); fourth declension^(Wiktionary)

+ The older spelling is ''voltus'', standard into the first century AD.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+ Ennius and Lucretius have a neuter plural ''volta''.^(OLD 2012)^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*woltu-]], probably [[inh|ine-pro|*wel-tu-|t=gaze, view]], which went from “gaze” to “look” to “face”; de Vaan follows Hamp in this.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) The root is [[m|ine-pro|*wel-|t=to see]].^(Köbler 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[sga|fili|t=seer]] and [[wlm|gwelet|t=to see]], from [[cel-pro|*welo-]], and perhaps with [[got|𐍅𐌿𐌻𐌸𐌿𐍃|tr=wulþus|t=glory, wealth]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) who has ''esse bonum ex vultū cognōscō'', “I can tell from his face that he is a good man”.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Vultus'' is first the face as it expresses feeling, “expression, look, countenance”, then the face itself, often in the plural.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) It is the face as used in looking (one's gaze), a person's distinctive features, the outward appearance of things (the face of the sun), and the aspect of abstract things, as the cheerful face of fortune.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) Döderlein contrasts ''[[faciēs]]'', the face as a physical feature, with ''[[ōs]]'' and ''vultus'', the face as it reflects the mind.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ Church Latin glosses it “countenance, face”, and in Medieval Latin it can mean an image or statue.^(Stelten 1995)^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: ''esse bonum ex vultū cognōscō''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 190–159 BC – Terence: ''nunc gestus mihi vultusque est capiundus novus'', “now I must put on a new bearing and expression”.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 170–c. 90 BC – Accius has it for the face washed with tears.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil: ''dēiēcit vultum'', “she lowered her eyes”.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Facial [[m|en|expression]], look, [[m|en|countenance]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # The [[m|en|face]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # The gaze, the eyes.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Looks, features.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Outward appearance (of things); aspect (of abstract things).^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' An image, statue.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}