sternuo Latin · revision 36018

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=ine-pro *(p)st-(e)r-nu-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈstɛr.nu.oː]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈstɛr.nu.o]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sternuō''' (present infinitive sternuere, perfect active sternuī); third conjugation, no passive, no supine stem^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*(p)ster-nu-]], [[inh|ine-pro|*(p)st-(e)r-nu-|t=to sneeze]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Latin and Greek, and perhaps Armenian, both have a present with a /nu/ suffix, but in Greek it is secondary to the aorist; the initial cluster may go back to /pst/, but this too is uncertain.^(de Vaan 2008) Imitative deformation may have affected the word in all the languages, yet de Vaan finds it unlikely that each would have invented a form with an inner /r/ to render a sneeze, so Latin may well have inherited it.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[grc|πτάρνυμαι|tr=ptárnumai|t=to sneeze]] and [[m|grc|πταρμός|tr=ptarmós|t=sneezing]], [[mga|sreod|t=sneezing]], [[cy|trew|t=sneezing]] and [[br|streviañ|t=to sneeze]].^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Plautus.^(de Vaan 2008) In the ''Pseudolus'' a speaker promises that the matter will be settled ''dum tu sternuas'', “while you sneeze”, that is, in a moment.^(Georges 1913)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Columella and Pliny the Elder use it of sneezing in the plain sense.^(Georges 1913)^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Conte 2010) Ovid transfers it to a lamp that sputters.^(Georges 1913)^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Conte 2010) Transitively it means to send forth by sneezing, as a sign of good omen or approval:^(Bianchi & Lelli 2014) in Catullus Love sneezes his approval, ''sternuit approbationem'', and Propertius has an omen sneezed to someone.^(Georges 1913)^(Conte 2010) From it come [[sternūtō]] “to sneeze repeatedly” and [[sternūmentum]] “a sneeze”.^(Bianchi & Lelli 2014)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus writes ''dum tu sternuas''.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus has Love sneeze his approval.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 57/46–12 BC – Propertius uses it of an omen.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of a sputtering lamp.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of sneezing.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(intransitive)'' To [[m|en|sneeze]].^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913)^(Gaffiot 2016)

+ # ''(intransitive, of a lamp)'' To [[m|en|sputter]], crackle.^(Georges 1913)^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Conte 2010)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To give (approval, an [[m|en|omen]]) by sneezing.^(Georges 1913)^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sternūmentum]]

+ * [[sternūtō]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[stertō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}