saxum Latin · revision 5444
16 Oct 2026, 02:42 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=uncertain|formation=inherited|attested=Naevius}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈsak.sũː]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈsak.sum]^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Forms==
+ '''saxum''' ''n'' (genitive saxī); second declension^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is from [[itc-pro|*saksom]], whose further origin is uncertain.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan says it cannot come from the root *sek- of [[secō]] “to cut”, since the /a/ would be unexplained, although the OLD and Köbler make that connection.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010) It may be related to Germanic words for a knife, such as [[non|sax]] and [[goh|sahs]], only if those come from a root with a laryngeal.^(de Vaan 2008)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ De Vaan dates it from Naevius.^(de Vaan 2008) In Plautus two shipwrecked women sit together on a rock.^(OLD 2012) Köbler dates Naevius c. 235–200 BC.^(Köbler 2010)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It was a large mass of stone, a rock or boulder, stone as a material, and stones shaped for building or other uses.^(OLD 2012)
+
+ In medieval Latin it was a type of hardness or barrenness.^(DMLBS) It survives in [[it|sasso]] and [[pt|seixo|t=pebble]].^(Wiktionary) Late Latin ''saxifraga'' “rock-breaking” (herb) gave [[en|saxifrage]] in the late 14th century.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has two women sitting on a rock.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * late 14th century – English ''saxifrage'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A [[m|en|rock]], [[m|en|boulder]].^(OLD 2012)
+ # Stone (as a material).^(OLD 2012)
+ # A shaped stone (for building).^(OLD 2012)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[saxeus]]
+ * [[saxifragus]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[saxātilis]]
+ * [[saxētum]]
+ * [[saxiālis]]
+ * [[saxifer]]
+ * [[saxificus]]
+ * [[saxigenus]]
+ * [[saxipērium]]
+ * [[saxitas]]
+ * [[saxōsitās]]
+ * [[saxōsus]]
+ * [[en|saxifrage]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ Döderlein counts ''saxum'', [[rūpēs]] and [[cautēs]] as large masses of stone, and [[lapis]] as a smaller stone.^(Döderlein 1874) Pliny says green flint found as a stone is ''lapis'', not ''saxum''.^(Döderlein 1874)
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}