viscus Latin · revision 30781

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈwiːs.kʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈvis.kus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vīscus''' ''n'' (genitive vīsceris); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+ It is used mostly in the plural, ''vīscera''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(OLD 2012)

+ An inscription and Apuleius have the nominative or accusative ''vīscum''.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The origin is unclear.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Etymonline) Wiktionary and Köbler mention [[ine-pro|*weys-|t=to turn, twist]], comparing [[m|la|vulva]] beside [[m|la|volvō]];^(Wiktionary)^(Köbler 2010) Lewis & Short connect it with [[m|la|viscum|t=birdlime]] and [[m|la|viscidus|t=sticky]], as “the soft parts”.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) who has ''dē lumbō obscēna vīscera'', “the obscene parts from the loin”.^(OLD 2012) Accius speaks of veins ''vīscerum venēnō imbūtae'', “steeped in poison”.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Vīscera'' are the soft, fleshy parts of the body, as distinct from skin and bone, then the innermost parts, the internal organs (especially of the abdomen), and a single organ.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) They are also the seat of thought and feeling, and with a possessive a person's own flesh and blood, his children.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) Transferred, it is the innermost part, the heart of a thing: Virgil has Etna hurling up the torn ''vīscera montis''.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ English [[m|en|viscera]] (1650s) is its plural.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus: ''obscēna vīscera''.^(OLD 2012)^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 170–c. 90 BC – Accius: ''vēnae vīscerum''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil: ''vīscera montis''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1650s – English [[m|en|viscera]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(usually plural)'' The flesh, the soft parts of the body.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(plural)'' The internal organs, [[m|en|entrails]], [[m|en|bowels]]; an organ.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(plural)'' The heart, the seat of feeling.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(plural)'' One's own flesh and blood, children.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(plural)'' The innermost part, the heart (of a thing).^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ēvīscerō]]

+ * [[vīscerātim]]

+ * [[vīscerātiō]]

+ * [[vīscereus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vīscum]]

+ * [[en|viscera]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different ''viscus'', genitive ''viscī'', masculine, is a variant of ''[[viscum]]'' “mistletoe, birdlime”.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}