obtutus Latin · revision 36383

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=220–130 BC, Pacuvius|origins=la tueor}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ɔpˈtuː.tʊs], [ɔpˈtuː.tuːs]^(Wiktionary)

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

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''obtūtus''' ''m'' (genitive obtūtūs); fourth declension^(Wiktionary)

+ It is also spelled ''optūtus''.^(OLD 2012)

+ The form ''obtuitus'' is given by Festus and appears as a variant reading in some manuscripts.^(TLL)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|la|obtueor|-tus|t1=to gaze at]], a noun of action.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) That verb joins [[m|la|ob-]] and [[m|la|tueor|t=to watch over; to look at]].^(Wiktionary)^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan thinks that the older meaning of the simple verb was to watch over or protect, and that the sense of looking at arose in the compounds; he finds attractive a derivation from [[ine-pro|*tuh₂-|t=to be strong]], but the reconstruction is uncertain.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ Festus explained the noun as if it were ⟨obtuitus⟩, from the verb ⟨tuor⟩ “to see”.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(TLL)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Its first known use is in a tragedy of Pacuvius, where someone asks why the other is frightening them with a stare (''quid mēd obtūtū terrēs?'').^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It is a steady look or gaze;^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Lewis & Short note that in prose it almost always has ''oculōrum'' with it, unless the eyes are clear from the context.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Cicero uses it of the power of gazing, since both eyes have the same gaze,^(OLD 2012) and Apuleius of the object seen in a mirror, as against its image.^(OLD 2012) Figuratively it is the mind's contemplation of something: Ovid writes of a frenzy that keeps his mind from dwelling on its woes.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ In medieval Latin it was used in phrases such as ''ad alicuius obtūtum'', before someone's eyes, and ''alicuius obtūtibus praesentāre'', to bring before a person.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 220–130 BC – Pacuvius uses it of a frightening stare.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses ''obtūtus oculōrum'' of the gaze of the eyes.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses it of the mind's contemplation.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of what is seen in a mirror.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 538/539–594 AD – Gregory of Tours still uses it.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A fixed look, [[m|en|gaze]]; the power of gazing.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # The object seen in a [[m|en|mirror]], as opposed to its reflection.^(OLD 2012)

+ # Mental [[m|en|contemplation]] or consideration.^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' ''ad alicuius obtūtum'': before someone's eyes.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tueor]]

+ * [[intuitus]]

+ * [[contuitus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}