noctivagus Latin · revision 36768

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=96–55 BC, Lucretius|origins=la nox, la vagor}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [nɔkˈtɪ.wa.ɡʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [nokˈtiː.va.ɡus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''noctivagus''' (feminine noctivaga, neuter noctivagum); first/second-declension adjective^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|la|nox|vagor|t1=night|t2=to wander]] with the adjective ending [[m|la|-us]], according to the OLD;^(OLD 2012) Wiktionary and Georges take the second part as [[m|la|vagus|t=wandering]].^(Wiktionary)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in Lucretius,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) who calls the stars the night-roaming torches of the sky (''noctivagae facēs caelī'').^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ A poetic word in Classical Latin,^(Lewis & Short 1879) it was used above all of the heavenly bodies and of the night: Virgil has the moon goddess drive her night-wandering chariot (''currū noctivagō Phoebē''), Seneca calls her ''noctivaga Phoebē'', and Statius applies it to the shades of night and to the god of sleep.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913) Valerius Flaccus speaks of a journey by night.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913) Faustus, quoted in Augustine's reply to him, speaks of a night-wandering sower.^(Georges 1913)

+

+ In Medieval Latin it was used as a noun for a night-wanderer or prowler.^(Niermeyer 1976)^(DMLBS) In English legal records from the 14th and 15th centuries a ''commūnis noctivagus'' was a “common nightwalker”, a person of bad repute who roamed the streets at night, and a record of 1467 gives the English word ''nyghtwalker'' beside it.^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 96–55 BC – Lucretius calls the stars ''noctivagae facēs caelī''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of the moon's chariot.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 45–96 AD – Statius uses it of the shades of night.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 354–430 AD – Augustine quotes it in his reply to Faustus.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1375 – A Norwich court record calls a man a ''commūnis noctivagus''.^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|roam|alt=Roaming]] or wandering by night.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(of heavenly bodies and the night)'' Moving through the night sky.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A night-wanderer, [[m|en|prowler]].^(Niermeyer 1976)^(DMLBS)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin, law)'' ''commūnis noctivagus'': a common [[m|en|nightwalker]].^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[nox]]

+ * [[vagor]]

+ * [[vagus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}