fons Latin · revision 17980

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=c. 235–200 BC, Naevius|origins=ine-pro *dʰenh₂-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈfõːs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfɔns]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''fōns''' ''m'' (genitive fontis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+ An inscription has the ablative ''fontei''; the genitive plural is usually ''fontium'', with ''fontum'' in Cicero; archaic ''funtes'' is also recorded.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*fonti-|t=spring]], [[inh|ine-pro|*dʰonh₂-ti-|t=flowing]], from the root of words for running and flowing.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)^(Köbler 2010) De Vaan finds the meaning unproblematic but the form harder: Walde and Hofmann assumed a blend of two stems, while Ernout and Meillet took the ⟨o⟩ as the sign of an old root noun.^(de Vaan 2008) L&S derived it from the root of [[m|la|fundō|t=to pour]].^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ Cognate with [[sa|धन्वति|tr=dhánvati|t=flows, runs]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Naevius.^(de Vaan 2008) Plautus has ''interbibere sōla, sī vīnō scatat, Corinthiēnsem fontem Pīrēnam potest'', “she alone could drink up the Corinthian spring Pirene, if it gushed with wine”.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Fōns'' is a spring, water rising from the ground, and in poetry a stream of any liquid (Ovid of tears).^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) It is the god of springs, whose festival was the ''Fontānālia'' (Varro).^(OLD 2012)^(de Vaan 2008) It is the source of a river (Virgil: ''fontem superāre Timāvī'', “to pass the source of the Timavus”), and figuratively a source, origin (Plautus: ''fōns vitī et periūrī'', “fount of vice and perjury”).^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ In Church Latin it is also a fountain, a well and a baptistery.^(Stelten 1995)^(Wiktionary) In Medieval Latin ''fōns'' and ''fontēs'' are the baptismal font, and the right to baptize.^(Niermeyer 1976) English [[m|en|font]], a basin for baptism, comes from it in late Old English.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: ''Corinthiēnsem fontem Pīrēnam'';^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010) ''fōns vitī et periūrī''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 116–27 BC – Varro: the ''Fontānālia'', named after the god Fons.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil: ''fontem superāre Timāvī''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * late Old English – English [[m|en|font]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|spring]] (of water); a stream (of any liquid).^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Fōns'': the god of springs.^(OLD 2012)

+ # The source (of a river).^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A source, origin, [[m|en|fount]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # A [[m|en|fountain]], well.^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # ''(Ecclesiastical Latin)'' A baptismal [[m|en|font]]; a baptistery.^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)^(Niermeyer 1976)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' The right to [[m|en|baptize]].^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fontālis]]

+ * [[fonticola]]

+ * [[fonticulus]]

+ * [[fontigena]]

+ * [[fontānus]]

+ * [[fontāna]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Fontānālia]]

+ * [[en|font]]

+ * [[en|fountain]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}