bipennis Latin · revision 33913

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=116–27 BC, Varro|origins=ine-pro *pet-n-h₂-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [bɪˈpɛn.nɪs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [biˈpɛn.nis]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''bipennis''' (neuter bipenne); third-declension two-termination adjective^(Wiktionary)

+ It is also spelled ''bipinnis''.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound of [[m|la|bi-|t=two]] and [[m|la|penna|t=feather, wing]] with the adjective ending ⟨-is⟩;^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) the noun stands for a two-edged axe, with [[m|la|secūris|t=axe]] understood.^(Wiktionary)^(Lewis & Short 1879) The TLL thinks two adjectives were confused, one made from [[m|la|penna]] "wing", the other from [[m|la|pinna]], used in the sense "sharp".^(TLL) De Vaan traces [[m|la|penna]] to [[itc-pro|*petnā-]] and [[ine-pro|*pet-n-h₂-|t=wing, feather]], with [[m|la|pinna]] as a dialect form of it.^(de Vaan 2008) Ancient writers explained the name of the axe from an old word for "sharp": Quintilian derived it from the word ⟨pinna⟩ in the sense "sharp", Isidore from ⟨pennum⟩, which he says the ancients used for "sharp".^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan finds it first in Varro;^(de Vaan 2008) in his ''Menippean Satires'' it is used both of feathers and of a two-bladed iron axe carried on the shoulder.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As an adjective it is rare: having two wings, as of insects in Pliny the Elder,^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) and, of an axe, having two edges, as Varro's axe and Virgil's two-edged iron.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Much more often it is a noun, a two-edged axe, mostly in poetry:^(Lewis & Short 1879) Virgil has someone seize a hard axe and break through the threshold, and Camilla takes up a strong one;^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(TLL) Horace has a holm-oak lopped by hard axes.^(Lewis & Short 1879) The TLL notes it as the weapon of the Amazons in particular.^(TLL) Lewis & Short note that only some cases are found.^(Lewis & Short 1879) In Medieval Latin it is a two-edged sword.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 116–27 BC – Varro of feathers and a two-edged axe.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(de Vaan 2008)

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil of the two-edged battle-axe.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ * c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian derives it from ''pinna'' “sharp”.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ * c. 560–636 AD – Isidore explains it from ''pennum'' “sharp”.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Having two [[m|en|wing|alt=wings]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(of an axe)'' Having two blades, [[m|en|two-edged]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A two-edged [[m|en|axe]], a [[m|en|battle-axe]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A two-edged sword.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[penna]]

+ * [[pinna]]

+ * [[secūris]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}