nequam

Latin

Etymology

According to De Vaan, from nē- (“not”) +‎ quam (“what, whom”, f. acc. sing. quī). It may derive more directly from the adverb quam (“how”), from the same source. Traditionally derived from, and perhaps historically influenced by nē- (“not”) +‎ aequam (“equal”, f. acc. sing. aequus).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈneː.kʷam/, [ˈneːkʷä̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈne.kwam/, [ˈnɛːkwäm]

Adjective

nēquam (indeclinable, comparative nēquior, superlative nēquissimus)

1. worthless, good-for-nothing
2. wretched, vile

Derived terms

• nēquitia/nēquitiēs

References

• “nequam”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “nequam”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• nequam in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • a good, useful slave: frugi (opp. nequam) servus