cos Latin · revision 36981

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=81–43 BC, Cicero|origins=ine-pro *ḱe/oh₃-t-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * Classical: [ˈkoːs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * Ecclesiastical: [ˈkɔs]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cōs''' ''f'' (genitive cōtis); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+ Lucan has the ablative plural ''cautibus''.^(OLD 2012)

+ A Late Latin nominative ''cōtis'' is found in Venantius Fortunatus, Cassiodorus and Isidore.^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*kōt-|t=whetstone]], [[inh|ine-pro|*ḱe/oh₃-t-|t=sharpening]].^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan takes it as a t-stem “the sharpening one”, of the same type as [[sacerdōs]], and sees the singular i-stem as secondary; he finds plausible the suggestion that [[cautēs|alt=cōtēs]] “rocks, crags” was its old plural.^(de Vaan 2008) The same root, “to sharpen”, is in [[m|la|catus|t=shrewd]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)

+

+ Cognate with [[ae|saēni-|t=pointed]] and [[ang|hān|t=whetstone]], formed with other suffixes.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ Isidore of Seville explained the name from its sharpening iron for cutting.^(TLL)^(Isidore)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in Cicero,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) who, like Livy, tells of a whetstone cut through with a razor (''novacula cotem discindere'').^(Georges 1913)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Besides the [[m|en|whetstone]], it was used of any hard stone or flint,^(Lewis & Short 1879) and in the plural of rocks and crags.^(Conte 2010) Cicero and Horace use it figuratively: anger was said to be the whetstone of courage (''iracundiam fortitudinis quasi cotem esse'').^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Conte 2010)

+

+ In Medieval Latin it also meant a touchstone for testing metal.^(DMLBS) In 14th-century London a whetstone hung round the neck was the mark of a liar in the pillory.^(DMLBS) It survives in Italian ''cote''.^(Conte 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for a whetstone, and figuratively.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 65–8 BC – Horace speaks of arrows sharpened on a whetstone.^(Georges 1913)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville explains its name.^(TLL)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1371 – A London ordinance has a whetstone hung round a liar's neck.^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|whetstone]], [[m|en|hone]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # Any hard stone, [[m|en|flint]];^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Conte 2010) ''(plural)'' rocks, crags.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Conte 2010)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Something that sharpens or stimulates.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A [[m|en|touchstone]].^(DMLBS)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[catus]]

+ * [[cautēs]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Cos.'' is also the usual abbreviation of [[consul]] (plural ''coss.'').^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Conte 2010)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}