anus Latin · revision 5647

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Ennius|origins=ine-pro *h₂enH-o-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈa.nʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈaː.nus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''anus''' ''f'' (genitive anūs); fourth declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*anu-|t=old woman]], [[inh|ine-pro|*h₂enH-o-|t=old woman]], perhaps a nursery word.^(de Vaan 2008) Cognate with [[hit|𒄩𒀭𒈾|tr=ḫanna-|t=grandmother]], [[xcl|հան|tr=han|t=grandmother]], [[lt|anyta|t=mother-in-law]] and [[goh|ana|t=grandmother]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) Why it became a u-stem is unclear; de Vaan suggests the influence of [[nurus]] “daughter-in-law”.^(de Vaan 2008)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Köbler dates it from Ennius, whose ''Annales'' have an old woman bringing a light on trembling limbs; de Vaan dates it from Plautus.^(Köbler 2010)^(OLD 2012)^(de Vaan 2008) Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It meant an old woman, the counterpart of [[senex]] “old man”, and Döderlein notes that it was used both with respect and as a reproach for weakness, credulity or talkativeness.^(OLD 2012)^(Döderlein 1874) Horace uses it of a sorceress, and it was also used as a feminine adjective, “old, aged”, of women, animals and things, as Plautus' rich old wife.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)

+

+ The diminutive [[anicula]] “little old woman” and the adjective [[anīlis]] “of an old woman” belong to it, and the ''Appendix Probi'' insists on ''anus'', not a diminutive ''anucla''.^(Appendix Probi)^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 204–169 BC – Ennius has an old woman bring a light.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it as an adjective, “old”.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 65–8 BC – Horace uses it of a witch.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An old woman; a [[m|en|crone]], witch.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # (feminine) Old, aged.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[ānellus]]

+ * [[ānulus]]

+ * [[anas]]

+ * [[anicula]]

+ * [[anīlis]]

+ * [[ānālis]]

+ * [[ānulāris]]

+ * [[ānulārius]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mamma]]

+ * [[nonnus]]

+ * [[senex]]

+ * [[en|anile]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Ānus, ānī'' (long ''ā''), masculine, is a different word: “ring, link”, then “anus”, from [[ine-pro|*h₁eh₂no-|t=ring]], and Cicero discusses it as an indecent word, and it gave [[en|anus]] in the 1650s.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(Etymonline) Döderlein contrasts ''anus'', an old lady, with ''vetula'', an old woman as decrepit.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}