fuscus

Translingual

Isostichopus fuscus.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin fuscus.

Adjective

fuscus m (feminine fusca, neuter fuscum)

1. (taxonomy) fuscous

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dʰwes-

Proto-Indo-European *-kos

Proto-Indo-European *dʰus-ko-sder.

Latin fuscus

From Proto-Indo-European *dʰus-ko-s (“dark-colored”), (cognate with Proto-Germanic *duskaz), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰwes-, seemingly related to Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂-. See also furvus, Proto-Celtic *dusnos, Sanskrit धूसर (dhūsara, “dust-colored”). More at dye, dust.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈfʊs.kʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈfus.kus]

Adjective

fuscus (feminine fusca, neuter fuscum); first/second-declension adjective

1. swarthy, dusky, dark
   • 56 BCE, Cicero, Pro Sestio 19.6:

     Alter unguentis adfluens, calamistrata coma, despiciens conscios stuprorum ac veteres vexatores aetatulae suae, puteali et faeneratorum gregibus inflatus, a quibus compulsus olim, ne in Scyllaeo illo aeris alieni tamquam fretu ad columnam adhaeresceret, in tribunatus portum perfugerat, contemnebat equites Romanos, minitabatur senatui, venditabat se operis atque ab iis se ereptum ne de ambitu causam diceret praedicabat, ab isdemque se etiam invito senatu provinciam sperare dicebat; eamque nisi adeptus esset, se incolumem nullo modo fore arbitrabatur. Alter, o di boni, quam taeter incedebat, quam truculentus, quam terribilis aspectu! unum aliquem te ex barbatis illis, exemplum imperi veteris, imaginem antiquitatis, columen rei publicae diceres intueri. Vestitus aspere nostra hac purpura plebeia ac paene fusca, capillo ita horrido ut Capua, in qua ipsa tum imaginis ornandae causa duumviratum gerebat, Seplasiam sublaturus videretur. Nam quid ego de supercilio dicam, quod tum hominibus non supercilium, sed pignus rei publicae videbatur? Tanta erat gravitas in oculo, tanta contractio frontis, ut illo supercilio annus ille niti tamquam <vade> videretur.

     • 1958 translation by R. Gardner

       Here is one of them. Dripping with unguents, with waved hair, looking down on the partners of his debaucheries and the greybeard abusers of his dainty youth, puffed up with rage against the Exchange { Puteal } and the herds of usurers, who had once driven him to take refuge in the harbour of a tribunate from the danger of being stuck up on the Column in a sea of debt as in those Straits of Scylla, he spoke with contempt of the Roman knights, he threatened the Senate, he ingratiated himself with hired ruffians, and boasted that they had saved him from standing his trial on a charge of bribery, he said that he hoped they would also help him to a province, Senate or no Senate, and if he failed to get it he thought nothing could save him. The other - good heavens! see him marching along - how repulsive, how fierce, how terrible he was to look at! You would have thought you saw one of our bearded forefathers, a perfect specimen of the old regime, a mirror of antiquity, a pillar of the State. Coarsely clad in our common purple, almost in black, with hair in such a tangle that at Capua, where he was then in office as duumvir in order to add another honour to his list, he looked as if he meant to carry off the Seplasia with him. And what am I to say of his eyebrow, which then did not seem to men to be a high brow, but a guarantee for the State ? There was such a solemnity in his eye, there were such wrinkles in his forehead, that this eyebrow seemed to be sponsor for the year's security.

   • c. 41 BCE – 39 BCE, Vergilius, Eclogae 10.38:

     quid tum, sī fuscus Amyntās? / et nigrae uiolae sunt et uaccīnia nigra

     What then, if Amyntas is swarthy? Violets are black too, and irises are black.

2. (of the voice) husky, hoarse

Usage notes

• In general, fuscus refers to something moderately black, dark gray or brown, and not colorful.
• Used by the Romans as an equivalent to φαιός (phaiós).

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	fuscus	fusca	fuscum		fuscī	fuscae	fusca
genitive	fuscī	fuscae	fuscī		fuscōrum	fuscārum	fuscōrum
dative	fuscō	fuscae	fuscō		fuscīs
accusative	fuscum	fuscam	fuscum		fuscōs	fuscās	fusca
ablative	fuscō	fuscā	fuscō		fuscīs
vocative	fusce	fusca	fuscum		fuscī	fuscae	fusca

Synonyms

• (dark, black): āter, niger

Related terms

• fuscitās
• fuscō

Descendants

• Asturian: foscu
• Dalmatian: fosc
• Catalan: fosc, fosca
• Galician: fosco, fusco
• Italian: fosco
• Ladin: fosch
• Old French: fusque
• Portuguese: fosco, fusco
• Sicilian: fuscu
• Spanish: hosco

See also

Colors in Classical and Old Latin · colōrēs (layout · text)

albus, candidus, cānus, marmoreus (poetic), eburneus (poetic), niveus (poetic), argenteus (poetic), lacteus (poetic)	pullus, fuscus, aquilus, mūrīnus (of livestock)	āter, niger, furvus, piceus (poetic)
rūfus, russus, ruber, flammeus (poetic), rōbus (of oxen), burrus; pūniceus, spādīx (poetic), sanguineus (poetic)	rutilus, fulvus (poetic), rāvus (of eyes), aureus (poetic), croceus (poetic); rūbidus, niger, badius (of horses)	lūridus, flāvus, lūteus, gilvus (of horses), helvus (of cattle); cēreus (poetic)
viridis, flāvus (poetic)	viridis, herbeus, fulvus (poetic)	viridis, glaucus, caeruleus (poetic, only dark)
	glaucus, caesius (of eyes)	līvidus, caeruleus, ferrūgineus (poetic), glaucus
violāceus	purpureus (underlying shade)	roseus

Further reading

• “fuscus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “fuscus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “fuscus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.