acerbus Latin · revision 5589

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=Plautus|origins=ine-pro *h₂eḱ-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [aˈkɛr.bʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [aˈt͡ʃɛr.bus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''acerbus''' (feminine acerba, neuter acerbum, comparative acerbior, superlative acerbissimus, adverb acerbē); first/second-declension adjective^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is from [[itc-pro|*akri-þo-|t=having sharpness]] or *akro-þo-, from the root [[ine-pro|*h₂eḱ-|t=sharp]] of [[ācer]] “sharp”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012) Nussbaum sees in it the same suffix that elsewhere gives Latin [[-idus]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Lewis & Short compare [[superbus]] beside [[super]].^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Plautus.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Gaffiot 2016) Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It meant sour, bitter or harsh to the taste, as the sea is ''acerbus'' in Lucretius, and of fruit unripe or green, as Cato's oil from the greenest olives.^(OLD 2012) Figuratively it was said of people who are hostile or pitiless, of a death that comes too early, of feelings that are keen or bitter, of grievous events and pains, and of strict or morose people.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ In medieval glosses it was also a crab apple.^(DMLBS) [[en|acerbic]] was taken from it in 1865, and [[exacerbō]] “to make bitter” gave [[en|exacerbate]] in the 1650s.^(Etymonline) It was borrowed into [[it|acerbo]] and [[fr|acerbe]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 234–149 BC – Cato makes the best oil from the greenest olives.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil speaks of children carried off by an untimely death.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 1865 – English ''acerbic'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|Sour]], [[m|en|bitter]] (to the taste).^(OLD 2012)

+ # Unripe, green; immature.^(OLD 2012)

+ # Hostile, pitiless, harsh.^(OLD 2012)

+ # (of death) Untimely.^(OLD 2012)

+ # Keen, bitter (of feelings); grievous.^(OLD 2012)

+ # Strict, severe, morose.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[acerbitās]]

+ * [[acerbitūdō]]

+ * [[acerbō]]

+ * [[peracerbus]]

+ * [[sēmiacerbus]]

+ * [[acerbē]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ācer]]

+ * [[en|acerbic]]

+ * [[en|exacerbate]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Döderlein contrasts ''acerbus'', a biting bitterness opposed to [[mītis]], with [[amārus]], a nauseous bitterness opposed to [[dulcis]].^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}