lepidus Latin · revision 32158

+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=derivation|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=ine-pro *lep-os-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈɫɛ.pɪ.dʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈlɛː.pi.dus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''lepidus''' (feminine lepida, neuter lepidum, superlative lepidissimus, adverb lepidē); first/second-declension adjective^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed with the suffix ⟨-idus⟩ on the root of [[m|la|lepōs|t=charm, grace]], as [[m|la|nitidus|t=shining]] beside [[m|la|nitor|t=brightness]]; whether the noun or the adjective came first is uncertain.^(TLL)^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan tentatively derives [[m|la|lepōs]] from [[ine-pro|*lep-os-|t=peel, rind]], so that its sense would have shifted from what has been peeled to refinement, as did [[grc|λεπτός|tr=leptós|t=peeled; thin, delicate]]; he finds the link with the Greek words not compelling.^(de Vaan 2008) The OLD suggests that the adjective comes from the Greek adjective.^(OLD 2012) Ancient glossaries derived it from [[m|la|lepus|t=hare]], the softest of animals.^(TLL)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates the word family from Plautus,^(de Vaan 2008) whose ''Bacchides'' pictures a charming young man reclining with a charming girl.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It means agreeable, charming or delightful, of persons and things, as Plautus' “o lovely day!”, and Lewis & Short note that it is especially frequent in Plautus and Terence and very rare in Cicero.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) De Vaan observes that the family disappears from use after Cicero.^(de Vaan 2008) Of remarks and books it means witty or amusing, as in the ''Rhetorica ad Herennium''.^(OLD 2012) Wiktionary also gives the sense effeminate.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a charming youth and a lovely day.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 190–159 BC – Terence of a kind and charming man.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it rarely.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Agreeable, [[m|en|charming]], delightful, nice.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Of remarks or books, [[m|en|witty]], amusing.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|effeminate|alt=Effeminate]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[illepidus]]

+ * [[lepidulus]]

+ * [[perlepidus]]

+ * [[lepidē]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lepōs]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Lepidus'' is also a Roman cognomen of the gens Aemilia, borne by Marcus Aemilius Lepidus the triumvir.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}