delphinus Latin · revision 7682

16 Oct 2026, 14:18 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=Accius|origins=grc δελφίς}}
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [dɛɫˈpʰiː.nʊs]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [delˈfiː.nus]^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Forms==
+ '''delphīnus''' ''m'' (genitive delphīnī); second declension^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[bor|grc|δελφίς|tr=delphís|t=dolphin]], also ⟨δελφίν⟩.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary)^(TLL)^(Etymonline) Köbler compares [[grc|δελφύς|tr=delphús|t=womb]].^(Köbler 2010) The poets also use the Greek form ⟨delphīn⟩.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ The OLD's earliest citation is from Accius, of dolphins.^(OLD 2012) Köbler dates Accius 170–c. 90 BC.^(Köbler 2010)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It meant a dolphin, as in Accius, Cicero and Horace's dolphin painted in the woods.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016) In Columella it was the constellation Dolphin, and in Pliny the Elder and Juvenal an ornament shaped like a dolphin.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)
+ 
+ Medieval Latin used ''delphīnus'' as the surname of the counts of Albon, then for a dignity in the Dauphiné, and after 1349 for the eldest son of the kings of France.^(Niermeyer 1976)^(Etymonline) It survives in Italian ''delfino'' and French ''dauphin'', and Medieval Latin ''dolfīnus'' and Old French ''daulphin'' gave [[en|dolphin]] in the mid-14th century, and French gave [[en|dauphin]].^(Wiktionary)^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 170–c. 90 BC – Accius uses it of dolphins.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * 1349 – ''delphīnus'' becomes the title of the French heir.^(Niermeyer 1976)^(Etymonline)
+ * mid-14th century – English ''dolphin'' is recorded.^(Etymonline)
+ 
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A [[m|en|dolphin]]; the constellation Dolphin.^(OLD 2012)^(Gaffiot 2016)
+ # A dolphin-shaped ornament.^(OLD 2012)
+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' The [[m|en|dauphin]].^(Niermeyer 1976)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[delphīna]]
+ * [[delphīnālis]]
+ * [[delphīnātus]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[en|dolphin]]
+ * [[en|dauphin]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}