seu Latin · revision 30775

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈsɛu̯]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈsɛːu̯]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''seu''' (conjunction)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the shortened form of [[m|la|sīve]], from [[m|la|sī|t=if]] and [[m|la|-ve|t=or]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Plautus has ''sī ego volō seu nōlō'', “whether I like it or not”.^(OLD 2012) Köbler first records it in Terence.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Seu'' has the meanings of ''sīve'': “or if”, and repeated, ''seu … seu'', “whether … or”; it introduces alternative possibilities (“either … or”), a single alternative (“or else”), and a more exact expression (“or rather”, ''seu potius'').^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) The OLD notes that ''seu'' is rare in most writers of the Republic, except perhaps Caesar, and that the two forms are often combined, especially in verse (Horace: ''Rōmae seu fors ita iusserit exsul'').^(OLD 2012)

+

+ Church Latin uses ''seu … vel'' for “whether … or”.^(Stelten 1995) Medieval Latin also uses it for “and”.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: ''sī ego volō seu nōlō''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 190–159 BC – Terence uses it.^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 65–8 BC – Horace: ''Rōmae seu fors ita iusserit exsul''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Conjunction===

+ # Or if.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''seu … seu'', whether … or; either … or.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # Or else; or rather.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' And.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sīve]]

+ * [[sī]]

+ * [[vel]]

+ * [[aut]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}