paulatim Latin · revision 18076

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=la paulus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [pau̯ˈɫaː.tĩː]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [pau̯ˈlaː.tim]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''paulātim''' (not comparable)^(Wiktionary)

+ It is also spelled ''paullātim'', but the TLL finds no early evidence for that spelling.^(OLD 2012)^(TLL)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[m|la|paulus|t=little]] (or the neuter [[m|la|paulum|t=a little]]) with the adverb suffix [[m|la|-ātim]].^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012)^(TLL)^(Lewis & Short 1879) De Vaan lists it among the words of [[m|la|paucus|t=few]]: he doubts that [[m|la|paulus]] comes from ⟨*pauk-slo-⟩, as Walde held, and cites Thurneysen's view that it is ⟨*pau-re-lo-⟩, a diminutive of [[m|la|parvus|t=small]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) who has ''labefactō paulātim'', “I'll loosen it little by little”.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Paulātim'' is “little by little, by degrees, gradually” (Caesar: the Germans were gradually getting used to crossing the Rhine), and “a small amount at a time, bit by bit” (Terence: ''cautim et paulātim dabis'', “you'll give carefully and a little at a time”).^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary) Lewis & Short give ''sēnsim'' as a synonym.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ Church Latin glosses it “gradually, little by little, a few at a time”.^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: ''labefactō paulātim''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 190–159 BC – Terence: ''cautim et paulātim dabis''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 50 BC – Caesar of the Germans crossing the Rhine.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Little by little, by degrees, [[m|en|gradually]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # A little at a time, bit by bit; a few at a time.^(OLD 2012)^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[paulus]]

+ * [[paulum]]

+ * [[paucus]]

+ * [[sēnsim]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}