unctus Latin · revision 33774

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=ine-pro *h₃engʷ-e/o-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈuːŋk.tʊs]^(Wiktionary)

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

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ūnctus''' (feminine ūncta, neuter ūnctum, comparative ūnctior); first/second-declension adjective^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Used as an adjective, it is the past participle [[der|la|unguō|t=to anoint]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010) De Vaan traces [[m|la|unguō]] to [[itc-pro|*ongʷ-e-|t=to anoint]] and [[ine-pro|*h₃engʷ-e/o-|t=to anoint]], cognate with [[xum|umtu|t=let him anoint]] and [[sa|अनक्ति|tr=anákti|t=to anoint, smear]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates the verb from Plautus, who also has the comparative diminutive ''unctiusculus'' “a little oilier”.^(de Vaan 2008) Köbler dates the adjective from Catullus.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is “oiled, greasy”, as the greasy water Horace's host will not serve his guests,^(OLD 2012) and so stands for rich food: Petronius has a full hand and a rich table, ''uncta mensa''.^(OLD 2012) Cicero plays on “oiled” and “enriched” in a letter to Atticus.^(OLD 2012) The neuter ''ūnctum'' is a rich dish or banquet and an ointment,^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995) and Church Latin has “anointed, smeared”.^(Stelten 1995) Döderlein says that ''unctus'' is anointed with a pleasant ointment, beside the general ''dēlibūtus'' and ''oblitus'', smeared with something unclean.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus has the adjective.^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero, of being oiled and enriched.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 65–8 BC – Horace, of greasy water.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * before 66 AD – Petronius, of a rich table.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Covered or soaked with oil, [[m|en|oily]], [[m|en|greasy]];^(OLD 2012) anointed, smeared.^(OLD 2012)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # Rich, of food or a table; enriched.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(neuter, ''ūnctum'')'' A rich dish, a [[m|en|banquet]]; an [[m|en|ointment]].^(Wiktionary)^(Stelten 1995)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[unguō]]

+ * [[unguentum]]

+ * [[ūnctiō]]

+ * [[ūnctor]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate fourth-declension noun ''ūnctus'', ''-ūs'', formed from the same verb, means “anointing”;^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary) Apuleius has ''oleum unctui'', oil for anointing, and Pliny the Elder uses it apparently of a sauce or dressing.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}