equus Latin · revision 656

+ ==Pronunciation==

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

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈɛː.kʷus]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''equus''' ''m'' (genitive equī, feminine equa); second declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*ekʷo-]], [[inh|ine-pro|*h₁eḱ-u-|t=horse]].^(de Vaan 2008) Following Kloekhorst, de Vaan takes the Anatolian forms to show an original u-stem, which the other branches turned into the thematic [[m|ine-pro|*h₁éḱwos]].^(de Vaan 2008)^(Wiktionary) In Latin the old paradigm must have had a nominative *ekos and a genitive *ekwī, and the stem equ- was generalised from the oblique cases.^(de Vaan 2008) The spelling ⟨quu⟩ replaced earlier ⟨quo⟩ and ⟨cu⟩ after the Augustan age, on the model of the oblique cases.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ It is cognate with [[xve|ekvon]] (accusative), [[xtg|epo-]], [[sga|ech]], [[sa|अश्व|tr=áśva-]], [[grc|ἵππος|tr=híppos]], [[ang|eoh]], [[non|jór]] and [[lt|ašvíenis|t=stallion]].^(de Vaan 2008) The TLL called the change seen in the Greek form not yet clear.^(TLL)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ De Vaan dates it from Livius Andronicus (280/260–before 200 BC).^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) The OLD's first quotation is from Ennius, of a horse that "often won at Olympia in the last lap".^(OLD 2012)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Besides the horse in general it could mean a stallion, as opposed to the mare ''equa''.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913) Poets gave horses to the Sun and Night and even to the winds.^(OLD 2012) ''Equus fluviātilis'', "river horse", was the hippopotamus.^(OLD 2012) The ''equus pūblicus'' was the horse provided by the state to a Roman cavalryman and later the mark of the equestrian order, which could be taken away for misconduct.^(OLD 2012) It also named a statue of a horse, above all the Trojan Horse, a horse-shaped standard, and the constellation Pegasus.^(OLD 2012) In late Latin ''equī pūblicī'' were post-horses,^(Lewis & Short 1879) and in medieval Latin ''equus'' was especially the war-horse.^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses the word.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 204–169 BC – Ennius describes an Olympic racehorse and the Trojan Horse.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 190–159 BC – Terence speaks of keeping horses.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for the constellation Pegasus in his ''Aratea''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder calls the hippopotamus ''equus fluviātilis''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|horse]].^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # A [[m|en|stallion]].^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913)

+ # ''equus pūblicus'': the horse granted by the state to a [[m|en|cavalryman]] or a member of the [[m|en|equestrian]] order.^(OLD 2012)

+ # A statue or image of a horse; the [[m|en|Trojan Horse]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''equus fluviātilis'': the [[m|en|hippopotamus]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(astronomy)'' The constellation [[m|en|Pegasus]].^(OLD 2012)

+ # ''(Late Latin, plural)'' Post-horses.^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A [[m|en|warhorse|alt=war-horse]].^(Niermeyer 1976)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[equisaetum]]

+ * [[equīsō]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[equa]]

+ * [[equārius]]

+ * [[eques]]

+ * [[equester]]

+ * [[equiferus]]

+ * [[equīle]]

+ * [[equimulga]]

+ * [[equīnus]]

+ * [[equiō]]

+ * [[equīria]]

+ * [[en|equine]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Equīs virīsque'', "with horses and men", meant colloquially "with all one's might".^(OLD 2012) The genitive plural ''equum'' is found in Virgil and later poets.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}