pauperculus Latin · revision 36593

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 250–184 BC, Plautus|origins=la pauper}}

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''pauperculus''' (feminine paupercula, neuter pauperculum); first/second-declension adjective^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|la|pauper|-culus|t1=poor]], a diminutive.^(OLD 2012)^(TLL) De Vaan traces the base to [[itc-pro|*pau(o)-pa/oro-]] and further to [[ine-pro|*peh₂u-(o-)p(o)rh₃-o-|t=providing little]]; it was originally an adjective of the second declension, which probably went over to the third after its opposite [[dīves]] “rich”.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan and Köbler find it from Plautus on.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) In the ''Persa'' a speaker says ''rēs nostrae sunt … pauperculae'', “our means are slender”.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It means poor, usually with a note of pity or affection,^(OLD 2012) and was used of people: a poor old man in Plautus, an old woman in Terence, a mother in Horace.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) Lewis and Short note that Cicero does not use it.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Varro speaks of most poor freemen as ''pauperculī'', and the masculine plural came to stand for “the poor”.^(Georges 1913) It was also said of things, such as possessions or a dwelling.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ The Vulgate uses it of the poor widow who gives her two coins.^(Lewis & Short 1879) British medieval writers apply it to poor people, to those who chose poverty for religious reasons, and to Christ.^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a poor old man and of slender means.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 230/220–168 BC – Caecilius speaks of a poor little hut.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of an old woman.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 116–27 BC – Varro uses the masculine plural for poor freemen.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of a mother.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 390–406 AD – The Vulgate calls the widow of Luke 21:2 ''vidua paupercula''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|poor|alt=Poor]], [[m|en|needy]], often with pity or affection.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # Of possessions or a dwelling: [[m|en|meagre|alt=Meagre]], humble.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913)

+ # ''(masculine plural as a noun)'' The poor.^(Georges 1913)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' Poor by choice, in religious [[m|en|poverty]].^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[paupertās]]

+ * [[pauperiēs]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}