murus Latin · revision 5713

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=Ennius|origins=ine-pro *mey-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈmuː.rʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmuː.rus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''mūrus''' ''m'' (genitive mūrī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*moiro-]], [[inh|ine-pro|*(H)moi-ro-|t=building]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) The archaic form [[m|la|moerus]] or [[m|la|moirus]] is found in inscriptions, Ennius and Accius.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) [[moenia]] “city walls” is related, and [[pōmērium]], the sacred boundary of Rome, comes from *post-moirio- “what is behind the wall”.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Plautus, whose city walled with a simple wall is safe enough.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012) Köbler dates it from Ennius, who has the old form ''moerus''.^(Köbler 2010)^(OLD 2012) Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC and Ennius 204–169 BC.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was a wall built for defence, a city wall, often in the plural, as Caesar's and Virgil's walls; then any outer wall, as Propertius' Danae in her bronze wall.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) By transfer it was a natural barrier, as Cicero says not even the wall of the Alps could hold back Antony's madness.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ Döderlein says ''mūrus'' is any wall as a form, while ''pariēs'' is the wall of a house and ''moenia'' the walls as defences.^(Döderlein 1874) It survives in [[it|muro]], [[fr|mur]] and [[es|muro]], and its adjective ''mūrālis'' gave [[en|mural]] in the mid-15th century.^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of a city walled with a simple wall.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 204–169 BC – Ennius has the old form ''moerus''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero calls the Alps a wall.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

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

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A defensive [[m|en|wall]], city wall.^(OLD 2012)

+ # Any outer wall.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A natural barrier, [[m|en|bulwark]].^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[mūrālis]]

+ * [[muro]]

+ * [[circāmoerium]]

+ * [[intrāmūrānus]]

+ * [[mūrātus]]

+ * [[pōmērium]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pariēs]]

+ * [[moenia]]

+ * [[en|mural]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Döderlein distinguishes ''mūrus'' (any wall), ''pariēs'' (the wall of a house), ''moenia'' (the walls of a city as defences) and ''māceria'' (a garden wall).^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}