culex Latin · revision 36303

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=ine-pro *ḱuH-ló-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈkʊ.ɫɛks]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈkuː.leks]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''culex''' ''m'' (genitive culicis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Martial has the spelling ''culix''.^(OLD 2012)

+ Plautus once uses it as a feminine.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably [[inh|itc-pro|*kul-i-k-]], from [[ine-pro|*ḱuH-ló-|t=sharp]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) An Italo-Celtic form with a long /ū/ before a stressed syllable would have given Latin ⟨cul-⟩ by Dybo's shortening of long vowels before a resonant, but where the accent lay is uncertain.^(de Vaan 2008) Isidore of Seville derived it from [[m|la|aculeus|t=sting]], since the gnat sucks blood with its sting.^(TLL)

+

+ Cognate with [[sga|cuil|t=fly]], [[cy|cylionen|t=midges]] and [[sa|शूल|tr=śū́la-|t=spear]];^(de Vaan 2008) Wiktionary adds [[xcl|սլաք|tr=slakʻ|t=roasting spit]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is found from Plautus on, for the [[m|en|gnat]]: in the ''Curculio'' he lists ''muscae, culicēs, cimicēs'', “flies, gnats, bugs”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Classical Latin it was a gnat or [[m|en|midge]], with many kinds;^(Lewis & Short 1879) Pliny the Elder also uses it of the insect that fertilises the fig.^(Georges 1913) Plautus uses it, in the feminine, as an insult for a tiresome old lover: ''cāna culex'', “grey gnat”.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913) ''Culex'' was the title of a short poem attributed to Virgil.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913) Pliny uses the plural for the specks that seem to float before the eyes,^(OLD 2012) and Palladius for a plant, the [[m|en|fleawort]].^(Georges 1913)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ In Medieval Latin it kept the sense “gnat”, often with reference to Matthew 23:24.^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it for the gnat, and as an insult.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it for the gnat.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it for spots before the eyes.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 560–636 AD – Isidore derives it from ''aculeus''.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|gnat]], [[m|en|midge]] or similar insect.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(term of abuse)'' A tiresome old lover.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(plural)'' Specks that seem to move before the eyes.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A plant, [[m|en|fleawort]].^(Georges 1913)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}