dicax Latin · revision 33899

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈdɪ.kaːks]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈdiː.kaks]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''dĭcāx''' (genitive dĭcācis); third-declension one-termination adjective^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed with [[m|la|-āx]] on the root ⟨dic-⟩ of [[m|la|dīcō|t=to say]], as in [[m|la|maledicus]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(TLL) De Vaan traces [[m|la|dīcō]] to [[itc-pro|*deik-e/o-|t=to say]] and [[ine-pro|*deiḱ-e/o-|t=to show]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Köbler dates it from Plautus,^(Köbler 2010) who in the ''Truculentus'' joins it with ''cavillātor'', a jester.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It describes someone with a ready tongue, quick to make clever remarks at another's expense.^(OLD 2012) Cicero distinguishes it from ''facētus'': Demosthenes was not so much ''dicāx'' as ''facētus'', since the first needs a sharper wit, the second greater art,^(Lewis & Short 1879) and Quintilian takes up the distinction.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Catullus joins it with ''venustus'' and ''urbānus'', and Caelius, as Quintilian quotes him, with ''lascīvus''.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Horace speaks of the satyrs, and Cicero of someone sharp-tongued against another.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Livy and Cicero use the comparative, Petronius the superlative; there is no adverb.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(TLL)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus with ''cavillātor''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero contrasts it with ''facētus''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ * 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus with ''venustus'' and ''urbānus''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ * 65–8 BC – Horace of the satyrs.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Having a ready tongue, quick with jokes at another's expense; [[m|en|sarcastic]], [[m|en|witty]], satirical.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[dicācitās]]

+ * [[dicāculus]]

+ * [[maledicāx]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dīcō]]

+ * [[facētus]]

+ * [[cavillātor]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}