comes Latin · revision 2745

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈkɔ.mɛs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkɔː.mes]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''comes''' ''m'' or f (genitive comitis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|la|com-|eō|-es|t1=together|t2=to go]], “one who goes with”.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan reconstructs [[itc-pro|*kom-i-t-]] “going together”, with the root of “to go” enlarged by a Proto-Indo-European suffix *-t-, and explains the nominative ''-es'' as analogical after other t-stems.^(de Vaan 2008) [[comitium|alt=Comitium]], the assembly place, and [[comitor|alt=comitārī]] “to accompany” are derived from it.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is found from Plautus onwards,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) who calls Palaemon the holy [[m|en|companion]] of Neptune and uses it of attendants.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It meant a companion on a journey or in flight, even an abstract one (“with virtue as guide and fortune as companion”), a friend or comrade of humbler rank, a follower or soldier, a devotee of a god and an adherent of a school.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Officially it was a member of the staff of a magistrate or governor and a retainer of an emperor or king, and privately an attendant or servant.^(OLD 2012) It also meant a partner or sharer, a thing given along with another (a dowry), a concomitant (envy, the companion of virtue), and a phenomenon that comes at the same time.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ In the late Empire it became a title of honour for court dignitaries, “companion of the ruler”, as in ''comes largitionum'' or ''comes rei militaris'',^(Niermeyer 1976) and in the Middle Ages it was the word for a [[m|en|count]], an [[m|en|earl]], a margrave or an ealdorman, a vassal and a commander.^(Köbler 2010)^(Wiktionary)^(Niermeyer 1976) Old French ''cuens'' and ''conte'' gave French ''comte'', and Italian ''conte'', Spanish and Portuguese ''conde'' continue it, as does Old French ''conestable'' from ''comes stabuli'', the count of the stable.^(Wiktionary)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a companion and of attendants.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of a man's attendants.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a magistrate's staff and of companions in flight.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of sharing in a victory.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of an adherent of the Stoics.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 475 AD – The Code of Euric has the medieval sense.^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 538/539–594 AD – Gregory of Tours uses it of a count.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|companion]] on a journey; a thing that goes along with another.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # A friend, a comrade; a member of the same group.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A follower, a soldier; a devotee; an adherent.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A member of a magistrate's staff; a retainer of a ruler; an attendant, a servant.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # A partner, a sharer; a concomitant.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(Late Latin)'' A court dignitary, “companion of the ruler”.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A [[m|en|count]], an [[m|en|earl]]; a margrave; a vassal; a commander.^(Köbler 2010)^(Wiktionary)^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[incomes]]

+ * [[abbacomes]]

+ * [[comitium]]

+ * [[comitō]]

+ * [[comitor]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[eō]]

+ * [[pedes]]

+ * [[en|count]]

+ * [[en|county]]

+ * [[en|constable]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}