brutus Latin · revision 36297

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 235–200 BC, Naevius|origins=ine-pro *gʷrh₂-u-to-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

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

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''brūtus''' (feminine brūta, neuter brūtum); first/second-declension adjective^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is generally regarded as a word from a Sabellic (Osco-Umbrian) dialect, in which /gʷ/ became /b/,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) and so goes back to the same stem as [[m|la|gravis|t=heavy]].^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan's reconstruction is [[der|itc-pro|*gʷrūto-]], from [[ine-pro|*gʷrh₂-u-to-|t=heavy]].^(de Vaan 2008) In his account the PIE form changed regularly to ⟨*gʷruH-to-⟩ by metathesis, a change Schrijver ties to the accent.^(de Vaan 2008) Livy calls the related first name ⟨Brūtulus⟩ Oscan.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ Cognate with [[lv|grū̃ts|t=heavy]],^(de Vaan 2008) [[sa|गुरु|tr=gurú|t=heavy]] and [[grc|βαρύς|tr=barús|t=heavy]].^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Naevius is the first to use it, in the sense “brutish, without sense”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010) The older meaning “heavy” is rare, found once each in Lucretius and Horace.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The physical sense “heavy, inert” survives in a few poets: Lucretius has ''brūtum pondus'', a dead weight, and Horace ''brūta tellūs'', the inert earth.^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010) The ancient grammarians, as reported in Paul the Deacon's epitome of Festus, said that the ancients used ''brūtum'' for ''gravem'', “heavy”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Lewis & Short 1879) The usual sense is mental: dull, stupid, without reason, said of people (Pacuvius calls fortune mad, blind and ''brūta''), and in Seneca of animals, the beasts without reason;^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010)^(Georges 1913) Pliny the Elder calls random thunderbolts ''brūta fulmina''.^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ Christian writers also use it for what lacks sensation,^(Georges 1913)^(Stelten 1995) and Medieval Latin for “stupid”.^(Niermeyer 1976) It survives in Italian as [[m|it|brutto]] and [[m|it|bruto]],^(Conte 2010) and through Old French ''brut'' it gave English [[m|en|brute]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it for people who are senseless.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it for a dead weight.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 65–8 BC – Horace calls the earth ''brūta tellūs''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of animals without reason.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * early 15th century – English [[m|en|brute]], from Old French, is first recorded.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|heavy|alt=Heavy]], [[m|en|inert]], immovable.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # Without intelligence or feeling; [[m|en|stupid]], irrational, [[m|en|brutish]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Niermeyer 1976)

+ # Of animals: without reason, [[m|en|brute]];^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010)^(Stelten 1995) ''brūta'' (neuter plural), the beasts.^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010)^(Stelten 1995)

+ # Of natural events: random, without purpose, as ''brūta fulmina'', thunderbolts that strike by chance.^(OLD 2012)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[brutesco]]

+ * [[brūtum]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gravis]]

+ * [[en|brute]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Döderlein distinguishes it from ''stupidus'' and ''bardus'': ''brūtus'' is the dullness of beasts, and of people who are like them.^(Döderlein 1874) The cognomen ''Brūtus'' of the gens Junia is the same word: according to the story, Lucius Junius Brutus, a relative of Tarquinius Superbus, saved himself by feigning stupidity, whence the name.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) Cicero puns on it in a letter: is this the fault of the Bruti? not theirs, he answers, but of other ''brūtī'', who think themselves wise (''Ad Atticum'' 14.14.2).^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}