locusta Latin · revision 706

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Classical): [ɫoːˈkʊs.ta], [ɫɔˈkʊs.ta]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [loˈkus.ta]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''lō̆custa''' ''f'' (genitive lō̆custae); first declension^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Of uncertain origin.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(TLL) The length of the first vowel is not certain, and spellings with ⟨luc-⟩, as [[m|la|lucusta]], are common, especially in old manuscripts and inscriptions.^(de Vaan 2008)^(OLD 2012)^(TLL) De Vaan finds only [[lacerta]] “lizard; mackerel” similar in form and meaning, but no common preform; the two may be related words in the language from which Latin borrowed them.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Etymonline) Pokorny connected both with [[ine-pro|*lek-|t=joint, limb; to bend]], as “jointed creatures”, which de Vaan finds unconvincing.^(Pokorny 1959)^(Köbler 2010)^(Wiktionary) Isidore of Seville explained the name from its long legs, “like a spear”.^(TLL)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is found from Naevius onwards,^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010) in the proverb ''prius pariet locusta Lucam bovem'' “a locust will sooner bear an elephant”, said of something impossible.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word meant both a [[m|en|locust]] or grasshopper and a crustacean, probably a kind of [[m|en|lobster]], also called ''locusta marina''.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Plautus jokes about the hard eyes of the lobster, and Livy reports a plague of locusts that covered the Pomptine plain like clouds.^(OLD 2012) Pliny the Elder describes both creatures.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ In the Vulgate John the Baptist eats locusts and wild honey.^(Lewis & Short 1879) English took the word twice: as [[en|locust]] in the early 14th century, and earlier, already in Old English, as ''loppestre'', the source of [[en|lobster]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 235–200 BC – Naevius uses it in a proverb.^(de Vaan 2008)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it for the lobster.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 59 BC–17 AD – Livy reports swarms of locusts.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder describes the lobster's shell and the locust's chirping.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * 390–406 AD – The Vulgate says John the Baptist ate locusts.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)

+ * early 14th century – English borrows it as [[en|locust]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

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

+ # A crustacean, probably a kind of [[m|en|lobster]], ''locusta marina'': the lobster.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[lacertus]]

+ * [[en|locust]]

+ * [[en|lobster]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Locusta'' or ''Lucusta'' was also the name of a notorious poisoner in the time of Claudius and Nero.^(OLD 2012)^(Georges 1913)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}