uncia Latin · revision 7503

16 Oct 2026, 13:58 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=Plautus|origins=la ūnus}}
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈuːŋ.ki.a], [ˈʊŋ.ki.a]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈun̠ʲ.t͡ʃi.a]^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Forms==
+ '''ū̆ncia''' ''f'' (genitive ū̆nciae); first declension^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ The OLD derives it from [[ūnus]] “one”, and Wiktionary, building on Varro, from [[ūnicus]] “unique” with the suffix [[-ia]], a twelfth being the unit of many Roman measures.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) Lewis and Short compare [[grc|οὐγκία|tr=ounkía]], the Sicilian form of the word.^(Lewis & Short 1879) Isidore says it is named because it binds the smaller weights together with its unity.^(Isidore)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ The OLD's earliest citation for the weight is from Plautus.^(OLD 2012) Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.^(Köbler 2010)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It meant a twelfth of any unit, as in Horace, and in inheritances ''ex unciā'' “for one twelfth of the estate”, as in Cicero and Ulpian; in reckoning interest it was a twelfth of one per cent a month.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879) Specifically it was a twelfth of a pound or of an ''as'' (about 27 g), from Plautus; a twelfth of a foot (about 25 mm), as in Pliny the Elder; and a twelfth of a ''iūgerum'', as in Varro.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)
+ 
+ In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant an inch or an ounce.^(Stelten 1995) Medieval Latin used it as a weight of gold and as a money of account, twelve to the pound.^(Niermeyer 1976) It was borrowed early into Old English as ''ynce'', whence [[en|inch]], and through Old French ''unce'' it gave [[en|ounce]] in the early 14th century.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it as a weight.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of a twelfth of a ''iūgerum''.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses ''ex unciā'' of an inheritance.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it as a measure of length.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * early 14th century – English ''ounce'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A twelfth part of a whole; in inheritances, one twelfth of the estate.^(OLD 2012)
+ # A twelfth of a pound or ''as'', an [[m|en|ounce]].^(OLD 2012)
+ # A twelfth of a foot, an [[m|en|inch]].^(OLD 2012)
+ # A twelfth of a ''iūgerum''.^(OLD 2012)
+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A money of account, a twelfth of a pound.^(Niermeyer 1976)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[sēmū̆ncia]]
+ * [[triuncis]]
+ * [[unciālis]]
+ * [[ūnciātim]]
+ * [[unciola]]
+ * [[quīncū̆nx]]
+ * [[sēscū̆ncia]]
+ * [[terrūncius]]
+ * [[terū̆ncius]]
+ * [[deū̆nx]]
+ * [[septū̆nx]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[ūnus]]
+ * [[ūnicus]]
+ * [[en|ounce]]
+ * [[en|inch]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}