arx Latin · revision 18089

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=ine-pro *h₂erk-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

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

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''arx''' ''f'' (genitive arcis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Varro spells it ''arcs''.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ De Vaan connects it with [[m|la|arceō|t=to contain, keep out]], [[m|la|arca|t=chest]] and Oscan ⟨*trēb-ark-o-⟩ “house-builder”, and takes it as a root noun [[inh|itc-pro|*ark-|t=a building]], perhaps [[inh|ine-pro|*h₂(e)r(ḱ)-s|t=container]]: the root ⟨*ark-⟩ was used of buildings as well as of small containers.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) [[m|la|arceō]] is cognate with [[hit|ḫark-|t=to hold, have]] and [[grc|ἀρκέω|tr=arkéō|t=to ward off]].^(de Vaan 2008) Varro derived it from the verb “to keep off”, because the citadel is the strongest part of a city, from which an enemy can most easily be kept away.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Plautus.^(de Vaan 2008) Köbler first records it in Cicero,^(Köbler 2010) who says ''nostrī ōlim urbe reliquā captā arcem tamen retinuērunt'', “our ancestors, when the rest of the city was taken, still held the citadel”.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Arx'' is the fortified height of a city, “a citadel”; with ''portae'' it is a tower over a gate (Propertius).^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary) A whole city seen as a stronghold or base is an ''arx'', and figuratively it is a bulwark (Cicero calls Rome ''arcem omnium gentium'', “the citadel of all nations”), and a refuge or sanctuary.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) The proverb ''arcem facere ē cloācā'', “to make a citadel out of a sewer”, means to make too much of something.^(OLD 2012) It is also a hilltop or peak, as in ''septem arcēs'', the seven hills of Rome, the height of heaven where gods live (''caelī arx''), and the highest part of anything.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Church Latin glosses it “throne, fortress, castle, refuge, stronghold”.^(Stelten 1995) In Medieval Latin it can mean “archive” and, by confusion with Greek [[m|grc|ἀρχή|tr=arkhḗ]], “exalted dignity”.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 116–27 BC – Varro: ''arx ab arcendō''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero: ''arcem omnium gentium''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil: ''mōlīrīque arcem'', “to build the citadel”.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|citadel]], [[m|en|stronghold]], fortress.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # A tower (over a gate).^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A [[m|en|bulwark]], defence; a refuge.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # A hilltop, peak;^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) ''septem arcēs'': the seven hills of Rome.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''caelī arx'': the height of heaven.^(OLD 2012)

+ # The highest part (of something).^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' An archive; exalted dignity.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[arca]]

+ * [[arceō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}