fauces Latin · revision 5761

+ {{infobox|confidence=unknown|attested=Plautus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈfau̯.keːs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfaːu̯.t͡ʃes]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''faucēs''' ''f pl'' (genitive faucium); third declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Its origin is unknown.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)^(OLD 2012) Isidore derived it from pouring out voices or from [[m|la|fārī]] “to speak”.^(Isidore)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan and Köbler date it from Plautus, who tells someone to hawk up from deep in the throat.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)^(OLD 2012) Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It was the upper part of the throat, the pharynx, as the passage of breath, the source of the voice and the gullet used for swallowing, and the jaws or maw of beasts, often figuratively, as Cicero's city snatched from the jaws of war.^(OLD 2012) It was also the outside of the throat, the neck.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ By transfer it was any narrow entrance: the mouth of a harbour, a pass into a country, as Cicero's camp in the jaws of Etruria, the entrance of a building, a volcano's crater, a strait, as Virgil's straits of Abydos.^(OLD 2012) Isidore explains narrow passes between mountains as named from their likeness to the throat.^(Isidore) The singular is used only in the ablative ''fauce'', and Varro notes the gap.^(OLD 2012) Its compound [[suffōcō]] “to choke” gave [[en|suffocate]] in the early 15th century, and [[en|faucet]] may come from it through Old French ''fausset''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus speaks of hawking from the throat.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 170–c. 90 BC – Accius speaks of the entrance of a pass.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of a camp in the jaws of Etruria.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil speaks of the straits of Abydos.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * early 15th century – English ''suffocate'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The upper part of the throat, [[m|en|pharynx]]; the windpipe, gullet.^(OLD 2012)

+ # (of beasts) The jaws, [[m|en|maw]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # The neck.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A narrow entrance: the mouth of a harbour or river; a pass, [[m|en|defile]]; a gateway; a crater.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A narrow passage of sea, a [[m|en|strait]].^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[suffōcō]]

+ * [[praefōcō]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gula]]

+ * [[guttur]]

+ * [[en|suffocate]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Döderlein distinguishes ''faucēs'', the entrance of the throat, from ''gula'' and ''guttur'', the gullet and windpipe.^(Döderlein 1874)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}