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Latin
Etymology
Unknown.[1] The hypothesis presented by Lewis and Short that it is from taeter (“foul, repulsive”) seems to be based on the assumption that this word shows monophthongization of an original diphthong ae to the long vowel ē, but that is contradicted by a number of examples of the first syllable scanning short in poetry.
Pronunciation
Adjective
tetricus (feminine tetrica, neuter tetricum); first/second-declension adjective
- forbidding, harsh, crabbed, gloomy, sour, stern, severe
16 BCE,
Ovid,
The Loves 3.3:
- Si deus ipse forem, numen sine fraude liceret
femina mendaci falleret ore meum;
ipse ego iurarem verum iurare puellas
et non de tetricis dicerer esse deus.- Translation by Christopher Marlowe
- Were I a god, I should give women leave,
With lying lips my godhead to deceive.
Myself would swear the wenches true did swear,
And I would be none of the gods severe.
38 CE – 104 CE,
Martial,
Epigrammata 6.10:
- At quam non tetricus, quam nulla nubilus ira,
Quam placido nostras legerat ore preces!- Translation by Ruurd R. Nauta[2]
- But how far from stern, how far from clouded by any anger, with how calm a countenance did he read my prayers!
Declension
First/second-declension adjective.
Synonyms
Descendants
References
- ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “tetricus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 618
- ^ Ruurd R. Nauta (2002) Poetry for Patrons: Literary Communication in the Age of Domitian, Brill, →ISBN, page 341.
Further reading
- “taetricus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- taetricus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.