missus Latin · revision 9753
17 Oct 2026, 00:17 by bogdan “New Latin entry (sources: de Vaan, OLD, Lewis & Short, TLL...)” current version
Initial text
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=Lucretius|origins=ine-pro *meyth₂-}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA (Classical): [ˈmɪs.sʊs]^(Wiktionary)
+ * IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmis.sus]^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Forms==
+ '''missus''' ''m'' (genitive missūs); fourth declension^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[af|la|mittō|-tus|t1=to send, throw]], a verbal noun of the fourth declension.^(OLD 2012)^(Wiktionary) De Vaan traces ⟨mittō⟩ to [[itc-pro|*meit-e/o-]], from [[ine-pro|*m(e)ith₂-|t=to exchange, remove]].^(de Vaan 2008)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Köbler's earliest source is Lucretius.^(Köbler 2010) The OLD cites Cicero for the sending of persons and Livy for the discharge of missiles.^(OLD 2012) Köbler dates Lucretius 96–55 BC.^(Köbler 2010)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ It meant a sending, dispatching, usually in the ablative with a genitive, as in Caesar's ''missū Caesaris'' “sent by Caesar” and Cicero; the shooting of missiles, and the distance a missile travels, as in Livy; and in the circus a race, normally of seven laps, as in Suetonius.^(OLD 2012)^(Lewis & Short 1879)
+
+ In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant an envoy.^(Stelten 1995) Isidore says Christ is called ''missus'' because the Word made flesh appeared in this world.^(Isidore) In Medieval Latin a ''missus'' was a messenger, envoy, ambassador, and above all the ''missus dominicus'', a royal commissioner; it was also a count's subordinate, a bishop's deputy, a papal legate and an attorney.^(Niermeyer 1976)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it.^(Köbler 2010)
+ * c. 50 BC – Caesar has ''missū Caesaris''.^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Köbler 2010)
+ * c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it of a race.^(OLD 2012)^(Köbler 2010)
+
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # A sending, dispatch.^(OLD 2012)
+ # The shooting of [[m|en|missile|alt=missiles]]; a missile's range.^(OLD 2012)
+ # ''(circus)'' A race.^(OLD 2012)
+ # ''(Medieval Latin)'' A messenger, [[m|en|envoy]], ''missus dominicus'', a royal [[m|en|commissioner]].^(Niermeyer 1976)
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[mittō]]
+ * [[missiō]]
+ * [[missīle]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ ''missus'' is also the perfect participle of [[mittō]].^(Lewis & Short 1879)^(Gaffiot 2016)
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}