-tim
Latin
Etymology
Adverbial accusative of Proto-Indo-European *-tis (which only survived marginally in Latin as a noun ending; see -tis).
Based on quem (seemingly from *kʷím; compare quid) and autem, Sihler hypothesizes that the regular outcome of original *-im in Latin is -em, as in mentem. Hence, he assumes Latin -tim developed phonetically from an earlier -tīm, with an "isolated and unexplained" long vowel[1] (presumably introduced by some process of analogy).
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [tĩː]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [tim]
Suffix
-tim
- forms adverbs from verbs with the meaning "by ...-ing"
- currō (“to run, hurry, hasten”) + -tim → cursim (“quickly, swiftly, hastily, speedily”)
- scindō (“to cut”) + -tim → scissim
- stringō (“draw tight, touch lightly”) + -tim → strictim
- incīdō (“cut short”) + -tim → incīsim
- dispergō (“scatter”) + -tim → dispersim
- contemnō (“scorn”) + -tim → contemptim
- forms some adverbs from nouns
Usage notes
Only a relatively small number of adverbs with this ending appear in the works of Classical Latin authors (44 in Caesar and Cicero per Taber 1895), although hundreds more are attested in preclassical or postclassical authors. In some cases, there is a more or less synonymous adverb in -ē derived from the perfect passive participle of the verb (e.g. dispersē vs. dispersim).[2]
This suffix is one of many (including -tus, -tor, -tiō, -tim, -tō, -tūra) that all use the same verb stem as the supine, perfect passive participle, and/or future active participle, found in the verb's fourth principal part. This stem is conventionally considered to end in -t- (or for some verbs, -s-), which would imply analyzing the suffixes as -us, -or, -io, -im, etc. However, from an etymological perspective it is more accurate to identify -t-/-s- as the initial consonant of these suffixes.
- Most 1st conjugation verbs attach -t- after the theme vowel -ā-: e.g. amō, amātor, but a few form this principal part differently: e.g. secō > sectiō. Similarly, many 4th conjugation verbs use -ī-t-, but some use other formations, e.g. saliō > saltō.
- 2nd conjugation verbs are less consistent. Many use -i-t- (moneō, monitor); some attach -t- after the final consonant of the root (doceō > doctor); a considerable number lack this principal part. Monosyllabic stems use -ē-t-: ex-pleō (stem plē-) > explētiō.
- Many 3rd conjugation verbs (and some 1st, 2nd and 4th) attach -t- directly after a consonant, which can cause complex changes. When -t- is placed after -t- or -d-, the consonants merge to -ss- (simplified to -s- if not preceded by short vowel): metō > messor, caedo > caesūra. Occasionally -s- is used after other consonants: curro > cursim, mergo > mersō. Before -t-, -b- -g- are regularly devoiced to -p- -c-: scrībō > scrīptor; frīgō > frīctus. The addition of -t- can be accompanied by various other changes, including vowel shortening, vowel lengthening, consonant insertion, or consonant deletion.
See this page for a more complete analysis.
A few noun stems follow similar modifications, but more often, nouns use -ātim:
Derived terms
References
- ^ Sihler, Andrew L. (1995), New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 65
- ^ Cooper, Frederic Taber (1895), Word Formation in the Roman Sermo Plebeius, page 90