picus Latin · revision 5917

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=Plautus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈpiː.kʊs]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈpiː.kus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''pīcus''' ''m'' (genitive pīcī); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*piko-]], perhaps [[inh|ine-pro|*(s)piko-|t=woodpecker]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) Cognate with [[xum|peico|t=woodpecker]], [[goh|speht|t=woodpecker]] and [[non|spætr|t=woodpecker]], and [[pīca]] “magpie” is a derivative.^(de Vaan 2008)^(TLL) The long /ī/ may have been taken from ''pīca'', since the other languages point to a short vowel, and the words may imitate the bird's shrill, laughing cry.^(de Vaan 2008)^(TLL) The name of the Umbrian god [[m|xum|Piquier Martier]] is compared with the Latin [[m|la|Pīcus Mārtius]].^(de Vaan 2008) Isidore of Seville said the bird was named after Picus, son of Saturn, who used it in augury.^(Isidore)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Plautus.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It meant a woodpecker, one of the birds of augury; the ''pīcus Mārtius'' was probably the great black woodpecker, and Pliny the Elder says woodpeckers bear the name of Mars and are important in augury.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Plautus also uses it of a griffin, according to Nonius.^(Gaffiot 2016) Picus was a king of Latium, son of Saturn, whom Circe turned into a woodpecker, as Virgil and Ovid tell.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) Festus says Picus used the bird in augury and was father of Faunus.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ Its descendants are thought to include [[it|picchio]] through a form with ⟨cc⟩.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus mentions a woodpecker.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 70–19 BC – Virgil tells of King Picus.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder describes the woodpecker of Mars.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|woodpecker]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # A [[m|en|griffin]].^(Gaffiot 2016)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pīca]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[Faunus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Pīcus'' was also the name of a king of Latium, son of Saturn, changed into a woodpecker by Circe.^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}