forum Latin · revision 5230

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=Twelve Tables|origins=ine-pro *dʰwer-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈfɔ.rũː]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfɔː.rum]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''forum''' ''n'' (genitive forī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*fworo-|t=room near the door]], [[inh|ine-pro|*dʰuor-o-|t=area at the door]].^(de Vaan 2008) De Vaan traces the meaning from “area at the doors” to “vestibule”, then “public room” and “public square”.^(de Vaan 2008) Cognate with [[xum|furo|t=forum]], [[lt|dvãras|t=estate, court]] and [[got|𐌳𐌰𐌿𐍂|tr=daur|t=gate]], and related to [[forīs]] “out of doors”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(TLL)^(Etymonline) Walde and Hofmann took it as a fenced area, from [[forō]] “to bore”, but Pokorny rejected this; the OLD calls the origin doubtful.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan and Köbler date it from the Twelve Tables,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) which use it of the forecourt of a tomb.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(TLL) Köbler dates the Twelve Tables c. 450 BC.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Cato it is also the place where fruit was laid out for pressing.^(de Vaan 2008) Its main sense was the public square of a town, the market and centre of public life, and especially the Forum Romanum.^(OLD 2012) The forum was the scene of business, banking (''forō cēdere'' “to go bankrupt”), political assemblies, funeral speeches and trials, so it came to mean public life, the courts and the bar, and in the provinces an assize or an assize town.^(OLD 2012) Many towns were named ''Forum'' with a qualifier, such as ''Forum Iūlii''.^(Gaffiot 2016)

+

+ In medieval Latin it meant a court with jurisdiction over a matter, and ''iūs forī'' was secular law as opposed to church law.^(Niermeyer 1976) [[en|forum]] was borrowed in the mid-15th century for the place of assembly in ancient Rome, and the sense “place for public discussion” dates from the 1680s.^(Etymonline) The word survives in [[it|foro]] and [[es|fuero|t=charter, jurisdiction]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 450 BC – the Twelve Tables use it of the forecourt of a tomb.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of the floor where fruit is pressed.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of a lover coming home from the forum.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * mid-15th century – English ''forum'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A public square, market place.^(OLD 2012)

+ # The Forum Romanum at Rome.^(OLD 2012)

+ # Public life, business, ''forō cēdere'', to go [[m|en|bankrupt]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # The courts, the bar; a court of law.^(OLD 2012)

+ # An [[m|en|assize]]; an assize town.^(OLD 2012)

+ # The forecourt of a tomb; the floor for pressing fruit.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(de Vaan 2008)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A [[m|en|jurisdiction]], ''iūs forī'', secular law.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[forēnsis]]

+ * [[forus]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[foris]]

+ * [[en|forum]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}