murcus

Latin

Etymology

Uncertain. The term is perhaps connected with marceō (“to be soaked”), itself from Proto-Indo-European *merk-. However, according to the linguist Nicholas Zair, it is most likely that the Latin verb showcases a development of Proto-Indo-European *mr̥k- to Proto-Italic *mork-, which then unrounded to *ma-. If this is accepted, then—according to Zair—the form murcus cannot be directly derived from Proto-Indo-European *mr̥k-o- or *mork-o-, and must instead have been borrowed from some other Indo-European substrate language where the unrounding never took place.[1] De Vaan, however, suggests that a zero-grade Proto-Indo-European form *mr̥k- would have instead vocalized as Proto-Italic *mark-, whence marceō, whereas the o-grade would have regularly produced forms such as murcidus.[2] Alternatively, the term may have emerged as back-formation from murcidus.[1]

The Hesychius hapax Ancient Greek μύρκος (múrkos), μυρικᾶς (murikâs, “mute, dumb”), transmitted as being used in Syracuse, is deemed by Oikonomos, Ernout/Meillet and Beekes borrowed from Latin.

Pronunciation

Noun

murcus m (genitive murcī); second declension (very rare)

  1. shortened, mutilated
  2. (military) a coward, who, to escape military service, cuts off his thumb
    • 380 CE – 392 CE, Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae 15.12.3:
      Nec eōrum aliquandō quisquam ut in Italiā mūnus Mārtium pertimēscēns pollicem sibi praecidit, quōs locāliter murcōs appellant.
      Neither are there among them any who, fearing military duty, cuts off, as in Italy, his thumb, which they regionally call murcī.

Declension

Second-declension noun.

singular plural
nominative murcus murcī
genitive murcī murcōrum
dative murcō murcīs
accusative murcum murcōs
ablative murcō murcīs
vocative murce murcī

Derived terms

  • murcidus (“languid”) (uncertain, also rare)
  • Murcus (personal name) (uncertain)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Zair, Nicholas (2017), “The origins of -urC- for expected -orC- in Latin”, in Glotta‎[1], volume 93, Göttingen: Vandendhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, →DOI, →ISSN, →JSTOR, page 261 of 255-289
  2. ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “marceō”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 364
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