obnoxius Latin · revision 31322

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=ine-pro *noḱ-eie-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ɔbˈnɔk.si.ʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [obˈnɔk.si.us]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''obnoxius''' (feminine obnoxia, neuter obnoxium, adverb obnoxiē); first/second-declension adjective^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It seems to come from the phrase ⟨ob noxam esse⟩, “to be liable for an offence”, with [[m|la|ob|t=on account of]] and [[m|la|noxa|t=harm, offence]].^(OLD 2012)^(TLL) De Vaan gives the usual explanation from ⟨ob noxiam esse⟩, “to be involved in wrongdoing”; ⟨noxa⟩ belongs to [[m|la|noceō|t=to harm]], from [[itc-pro|*nokeje-|t=to cause death]] and [[ine-pro|*noḱ-eie-|t=to make disappear, cause death]], cognate with [[sa|नाशय|tr=nāśáya-|t=to make disappear, destroy]].^(de Vaan 2008) He adds that [[m|la|noxius|t=harmful]] could be a back-formation from ⟨obnoxius⟩.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Plautus has slaves who say their masters will be bound to them for life by their kindness, in the ''Asinaria'';^(OLD 2012) Köbler also gives Plautus.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Its first sense in Plautus is under obligation or indebted, and in law liable or answerable, as in Scaevola.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) It is also subject or at the mercy of someone, as Sallust's “subject to men who would fear us if the state were sound”, and of conduct servile or submissive.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ It is exposed or liable to harm, as Accius' “that you are liable to this harm”, and to wind and storms, as Tibullus' crag exposed to raging winds;^(OLD 2012) without a dative it is vulnerable, as in Sallust.^(OLD 2012) Of behaviour it is prone to a fault, as Sallust's man liable neither to crime nor to lust.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Church Latin glosses it “subject, submissive, liable, exposed”.^(Stelten 1995) English ''obnoxious'' in the 1580s first meant “subject to another's authority”, through ''obnoxiōsus''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of being bound by kindness.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 170–c. 90 BC – Accius of liability to harm.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 86–34 BC – Sallust of subjection and vulnerability.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 55–19/18 BC – Tibullus of a crag exposed to winds.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1580s – Borrowed into English as [[m|en|obnoxious]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Under [[m|en|obligation]], bound, indebted;^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) ''(law)'' liable, answerable.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Subject, at the mercy (of);^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995) [[m|en|servile]], submissive.^(OLD 2012)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # [[m|en|liable|alt=Liable]], exposed (to harm, danger, weather).^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # Vulnerable.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Prone (to a fault); guilty.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[obnoxiō]]

+ * [[obnoxiōsus]]

+ * [[obnoxiē]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[noceō]]

+ * [[noxa]]

+ * [[noxālis]]

+ * [[noxia]]

+ * [[noxius]]

+ * [[en|obnoxious]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}