onus Latin · revision 17981

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=ine-pro *h₃en-os}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈɔ.nʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈɔː.nus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''onus''' ''n'' (genitive oneris); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Gellius cites ''honus'' as an archaic spelling, and good manuscripts also have it.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*ones-|t=load]], [[inh|ine-pro|*h₃en-os|t=load]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) If [[hit|anii̯e-|t=to work, carry out]] belongs here, which is not certain in meaning, the root would rather be ⟨*h₁enH-⟩.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ Cognate with [[sa|अनस्|tr=ánas|t=heavy cart]] and [[m|sa|अनड्वह्|tr=anaḍváh|t=draught ox]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Plautus,^(de Vaan 2008) who has ''vix incēdō inānis, nē īre posse cum onere exīstumēs'', “I can hardly walk empty-handed, so don't imagine I can go with a load”.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Onus'' is a load or burden, the cargo of a ship, a weight (Cato of a wall bearing a load), and any heavy mass.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary) It is an excessive or awkward load (Cicero: our soldiers count shield, sword and helmet no more a burden than their shoulders), and figuratively a burden of grief or care (Plautus of slavery: ''ferundum hoc onus est'', “this burden must be borne”) and of responsibility, a task or charge (Plautus: ''in tē ego hoc onus omne impōnō'', “I lay this whole burden on you”).^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) Wiktionary adds a tax.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Church Latin glosses it “burden, load, cargo, obligation”.^(Stelten 1995) In Medieval Latin it is also a cartload of hay used as a measure for meadows, and a due.^(Niermeyer 1976) English [[m|en|onus]] dates from the 1640s, and legal Latin ''onus probandī'', the burden of proof, from 1722.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: ''cum onere'';^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010) ''in tē ego hoc onus omne impōnō''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of the load on a wall.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the soldier's equipment.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1640s – English [[m|en|onus]].^(Etymonline)

+ * 1722 – ''onus probandī'' recorded in English legal use.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|load]], [[m|en|burden]]; a cargo, freight.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # A weight; a heavy mass.^(OLD 2012)

+ # An encumbrance.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A burden (of grief, care).^(OLD 2012)

+ # A burden of responsibility, task, charge; an [[m|en|obligation]].^(OLD 2012)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # A [[m|en|tax]].^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A cartload of hay (as a measure); a due.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[onerārius]]

+ * [[onerō]]

+ * [[onerōsus]]

+ * [[onustus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[en|onus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}