fidus Latin · revision 6651
16 Oct 2026, 12:32 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)”
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=Ennius|origins=ine-pro *bʰeydʰ-}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈfiː.dʊs]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈfiː.dus]^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Forms==
+ '''fīdus''' (feminine fīda, neuter fīdum, comparative fīdior, superlative fīdissimus); first/second-declension adjective^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[inh|itc-pro|*feiðos]], [[inh|ine-pro|*bʰeydʰós]], from the root of [[fīdō]] “to trust” and [[fidēs]] “faith”.^(Wiktionary)^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010) An inscription has the old spelling ⟨feidus⟩.^(OLD 2012)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ The OLD's first citation is Ennius.^(OLD 2012) Köbler's first source is Plautus.^(Köbler 2010) Köbler dates Ennius 204–169 BC.^(Köbler 2010)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It meant keeping faith, faithful, loyal, devoted, as Cicero's most faithful wife, also of friendships and in poetry of things, and loyal in allegiance.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) Of actions it meant honest, sincere, and of persons trustworthy, reliable, as Livy's more reliable kinds of men; of things and places it meant safe, of conditions lasting.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) Döderlein says ''fīdus'' is trustworthy as a natural quality, while [[fidēlis]] is faithful as a moral one.^(Döderlein 1874)
+
+ In Medieval Latin it meant confident, and confidential, secret.^(Niermeyer 1976) It survives in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese ''fido''.^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 204–169 BC – Ennius uses it of faithfulness.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a faithful wife.^(Gaffiot 2016)^(Köbler 2010)
+
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # [[m|en|Faithful]], loyal, devoted.^(OLD 2012)
+ # Loyal (in allegiance).^(OLD 2012)
+ # Honest, sincere.^(OLD 2012)
+ # [[m|en|Trustworthy]], reliable; safe.^(OLD 2012)
+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' Confidential.^(Niermeyer 1976)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[fidamen]]
+ * [[īnfīdus]]
+ * [[multifidus]]
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[fīdō]]
+ * [[fīdūcia]]
+ * [[fīdūciārius]]
+ * [[fidēs]]
+ * [[fidēlis]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ ''Fīdus'' is also an old form of [[foedus]] “treaty”, cited by Varro.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}