luctus Latin · revision 17989

+ {{infobox|confidence=disputed|formation=derivation|attested=234–149 BC, Cato|origins=la lūgeō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈɫuːk.tʊs]^(Wiktionary)

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

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''lūctus''' ''m'' (genitive lūctūs); fourth declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Accius has the genitive ''lūctī''.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|la|lūgeō|-tus|t1=to mourn]], an action noun.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Lewis & Short 1879) De Vaan derives [[m|la|lūgeō]] from [[itc-pro|*loug-eje-]] and [[ine-pro|*loug-eie-|t=to swallow, gasp]], comparing [[grc|λύζω|tr=lúzō|t=to have the hiccups, sob]] and [[sga|loingid|t=eats]]; the verb is often connected instead with [[ine-pro|*lug-|t=to break]], since breaking and mourning are often linked.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Cato asks ''quantum lūctum, quantum gemitum … factum audīvī?'', “what mourning, what groaning I heard was raised!”.^(OLD 2012) Accius has ''maior erit lūctus, cum mē damnātum audiet'', “his grief will be greater when he hears I am condemned”.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Lūctus'' is the outward expression of grief, “mourning, lamentation”, especially for the dead (Cicero: ''quem lūctum … Lampsacēnōrum'', “what mourning of the people of Lampsacus”, Virgil: ''maestō … immūgit rēgia lūctū'', “the palace groans with sad lamentation”), and also the feeling, “grief, sorrow”.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Church Latin glosses it “grief, mourning, lamentation”.^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 234–149 BC – Cato: ''quantum lūctum, quantum gemitum''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 170–c. 90 BC – Accius: ''maior erit lūctus''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of public mourning.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil: ''maestō … rēgia lūctū''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|mourning]], [[m|en|lamentation]] (especially for the dead).^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # [[m|en|grief]], sorrow.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[luctifer]]

+ * [[lūctificus]]

+ * [[luctisonus]]

+ * [[lūctuōsus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lūgeō]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Döderlein distinguishes ''[[dolor]]'', the inward feeling of grief, from the words for its outward signs: ''[[trīstitia]]'' and ''[[maestitia]]'' show it naturally in the face and bearing, while ''lūctus'', like Greek πένθος, is its deliberate, conventional show, such as cutting the hair and wearing mourning clothes for an appointed time.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}