astutus Latin · revision 33056

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [aːsˈtuː.tʊs], [asˈtuː.tʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [asˈtuː.tus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ā̆stūtus''' (feminine ā̆stūta, neuter ā̆stūtum, comparative astūtior, adverb astūtē); first/second-declension adjective^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|la|astus|-ūtus|t1=cunning]].^(OLD 2012)^(TLL)^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008) The origin of the noun is uncertain:^(Etymonline) the Romans derived its old ablative ⟨astū⟩ from [[grc|ἄστυ|tr=ástu|t=town]], and Vendryes from a stem ⟨*ad-stu-⟩ "standing by", from [[m|la|astō|t=to stand by]].^(de Vaan 2008) Döderlein connected it with [[m|la|acuō|t=to sharpen]].^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) whose ''Pseudolus'' needs a man who is cunning, learned, careful and clever.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It means cunning, crafty, astute, of people and of actions:^(OLD 2012) Plautus has a trick more cunning than any poet ever devised, and the ''Rhetorica ad Herennium'' a more cunning plan.^(OLD 2012) Lewis & Short note that it is more often used in a bad sense, sly or designing, than of shrewdness.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Döderlein sets it beside ''callidus'': both are cunning as a mark of cleverness, but ''astūtus'' is sharpness in planning and carrying out a secret scheme.^(Döderlein 1874) The comparative is usual from Plautus on, and the superlative appears in Augustine.^(TLL) Stelten glosses it in Church Latin as "wise, prudent".^(Stelten 1995) English borrowed it in the 1610s as [[m|en|astute]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a cunning man.^(OLD 2012)^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 86/82 BC – The ''Rhetorica ad Herennium'' of a cunning plan.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 354–430 AD – Augustine uses the superlative.^(TLL)

+ * 1610s – Borrowed into English as [[m|en|astute]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|cunning|alt=Cunning]], [[m|en|crafty]], [[m|en|astute]], shrewd; sly.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Ecclesiastical Latin)'' Wise, [[m|en|prudent]].^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ā̆stūtia]]

+ * [[astutulus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[astus]]

+ * [[callidus]]

+ * [[en|astute]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}