sicarius Latin · revision 31683

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=81–43 BC, Cicero|origins=la sīca}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [siːˈkaː.ri.ʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [siˈkaː.ri.us]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sīcārius''' ''m'' (genitive sīcāriī or sīcārī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[sīca|t=dagger]] with the suffix [[m|la|-ārius]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan finds no way to connect ⟨sīca⟩ with the root of [[secō|t=to cut]] and no other etymology, and thinks it may be a loanword.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan and Köbler date it from Cicero,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) who in his defence of Roscius of Ameria speaks of an old assassin.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is an assassin, a murderer;^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Quintilian notes that by extension all who kill with any weapon are called ''sīcāriī''.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) In law the ''quaestiō inter sīcāriōs'' or ''dē sīcāriīs'' was the standing court for murder, as in Cicero and Suetonius.^(OLD 2012) Döderlein contrasts it with [[percussor]]: the ''percussor'' carries out a public sentence, while the ''sīcārius'' hires out his hand for a secret killing.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ Church Latin glosses it “assassin, murderer”.^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero of assassins and the murder court.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian on the wider use.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius of the murder court.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|assassin]], [[m|en|murderer]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # ''(law)'' ''quaestiō inter sīcāriōs'', the court for cases of murder.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sīca]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}