fulmen Latin · revision 18050

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 235–200 BC, Naevius|origins=ine-pro *bʰleg-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈfʊɫ.mɛn]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈful.men]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''fulmen''' ''n'' (genitive fulminis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is from ⟨*fulg-men⟩, formed [[af|la|fulgeō|-men|t1=to flash, lighten]], with ⟨*-lgm-⟩ simplified to ⟨-lm-⟩.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Lewis & Short 1879) De Vaan calls its derivation from the verb certain, and traces [[m|la|fulgō]] to [[itc-pro|*folg-e/o-|t=to shine]] and [[ine-pro|*bʰlg-e/o-|t=to shine]], cognate with [[grc|φλέγω|tr=phlégō|t=to burn]] and [[grc|φλόξ|tr=phlóx|t=flame]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Naevius,^(de Vaan 2008) who writes ''quae quondam fulmine īcit Iuppiter'', “which Jupiter once struck with his thunderbolt”.^(OLD 2012) A law ascribed to the kings has ''homō sī fulmine occīsus est'', “if a man has been killed by lightning”.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Fulmen'' is lightning that strikes, “a thunderbolt”, as opposed to ''fulgur'', a mere flash.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary) It was an omen (Cicero: a tribune announced lightning on the left) and the weapon of Jupiter; it is also an image of a thunderbolt, and in poetry a dazzling flash.^(OLD 2012) Figuratively it is a deadly weapon or threat, a great general, as Lucretius' ''Scīpiadās, bellī fulmen'', the thunderbolts of an orator's speech (Cicero on Demosthenes), and a crushing blow of fortune.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ Church Latin glosses it “lightning, thunderbolt”;^(Stelten 1995) medieval Latin speaks of the ''fulmen anathematis'', the thunderbolt of excommunication.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 235–200 BC – Naevius: ''fulmine īcit Iuppiter''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 204–169 BC – Ennius: ''fulmine clārō''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 96–55 BC – Lucretius: ''Scīpiadās, bellī fulmen''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero: ''fulmina fortūnae''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|thunderbolt]], lightning that strikes.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # The weapon of Jupiter; an image of a thunderbolt.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A dazzling flash.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A deadly force; a great warrior; a forceful utterance.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A crushing blow, sudden [[m|en|disaster]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' The thunderbolt of [[m|en|anathema]].^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fulmināris]]

+ * [[fulmineus]]

+ * [[fulminō]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fulgeō]]

+ * [[fulgur]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}