inoffensus Latin · revision 33303

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=70–19 BC, Virgil|origins=ine-pro *gʷʰen-dʰ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ɪ.nɔfˈfẽː.sʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [i.nofˈfɛn.sus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''inoffēnsus''' (feminine inoffēnsa, neuter inoffēnsum, adverb inoffēnsē); first/second-declension adjective^(Wiktionary)

+ The adverb is ''inoffēnsē''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[m|la|in-|t=not]] and [[m|la|offēnsus]], the participle of [[m|la|offendō|t=to strike against]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan traces the verb ⟨-fendō⟩, preserved only in compounds, to [[itc-pro|*χʷ(e)nd-]] and [[ine-pro|*gʷʰen-dʰ-|t=to hit, strike]].^(de Vaan 2008) Cognate with [[sa|हन्ति|tr=hánti|t=to kill]], [[grc|θείνω|tr=theínō|t=to strike]] and [[lt|gìnti|t=to protect, defend]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Köbler dates it from Virgil,^(Köbler 2010) who has the sea flowing up unbroken with the rising tide, ''mare inoffensum crescenti adlabitur aestu''.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It means not striking against an obstacle, moving without obstruction, especially of feet;^(OLD 2012) Lewis & Short call it poetic and post-Augustan.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Of a path or course it is uninterrupted or smooth: Seneca prays that the eternal stars may run their courses unhindered.^(OLD 2012) It also means not collided with, as in Lucan's charioteer who brings his car close to the turning post without touching it,^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) and unharmed: Ovid wishes a friend to reach the end of life unharmed.^(OLD 2012) Pliny the Younger uses it of passing through a region of abundant pleasures unhindered.^(Lewis & Short 1879) In Church Latin it means unhurt.^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil, of the sea flowing unbroken.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid, of reaching the end of life unharmed.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca, of the stars' unhindered courses.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 39–65 AD – Lucan, of a turning post not grazed.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Not striking against an obstacle, [[m|en|unobstructed]], [[m|en|unhindered]];^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary) of a course, [[m|en|uninterrupted]], smooth.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Not collided with, untouched.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # Not harmed, [[m|en|unhurt]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[offendō]]

+ * [[offēnsus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}