severus

See also: Severus

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ-
Proto-Indo-European *-wr̥
Proto-Indo-European *séǵʰwr̥der.
Proto-Italic *seɣwēros?
Proto-Indo-European *s(w)é
Proto-Indo-European *s(w)ēdder.
Latin se-
Proto-Indo-European *weh₁ros
Proto-Italic *wēros
Latin vērus
?
Latin severus

    According to De Vaan, from Proto-Italic *seɣwēros, from a collective derivation of the noun Proto-Indo-European *séǵʰwr̥, from Proto-Indo-European *seǵʰ- (“to hold”).[1]

    Other etymologists, such as Meiser, posit this word to be from se- + verus, but De Vaan notes a heavy semantic mismatch.[1]

    Pronunciation

    Adjective

    sevērus (feminine sevēra, neuter sevērum, comparative sevērior, superlative sevērissimus); first/second-declension adjective

    1. severe, serious, strict, stern, stringent, austere, harsh, grave (in demeanor)
      Synonyms: trux, ferōx, atrōx, violēns, immānis, efferus, ferus, crūdēlis, barbaricus, silvāticus, acerbus, ācer
      Antonyms: mītis, tranquillus, misericors, placidus, quietus, clemens
      • c. 84 BCE – 54 BCE, Catullus, Carmina 5.1–3:
        Vivamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus,
        rumoresque senum severiorum
        omnes unius aestimemus assis.
        Let us live, my Lesbia, and love, and account all the rumours of very grave old men as worth a single penny.

    Declension

    First/second-declension adjective.

    singular plural
    masculine feminine neuter masculine feminine neuter
    nominative sevērus sevēra sevērum sevērī sevērae sevēra
    genitive sevērī sevērae sevērī sevērōrum sevērārum sevērōrum
    dative sevērō sevērae sevērō sevērīs
    accusative sevērum sevēram sevērum sevērōs sevērās sevēra
    ablative sevērō sevērā sevērō sevērīs
    vocative sevēre sevēra sevērum sevērī sevērae sevēra

    Derived terms

    Descendants

    • Asturian: severu
    • Catalan: sever
    • English: severe
    • French: sévère
    • Galician: severo
    • Italian: severo
    • Occitan: sevèr
    • Portuguese: severo
    • Sicilian: siviru
    • Spanish: severo

    References

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 De Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 560

    Further reading

    • “severus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
    • “severus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
    • “severus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
    • Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
      • to be brought up under strict discipline: severa disciplina contineri
      • a stern critic of morals: severus morum castigator
      • to be a strict disciplinarian in one's household: severum imperium in suis exercere, tenere (De Sen. 11. 37)
    • “severus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
    • “severus”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
    • William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “severe”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
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