paulus

See also: Paulus

Latin

Etymology

From earlier paullus, likely for Proto-Italic *paukslos, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- (“few, small”) + *-ko- + *-slom, the first two elements also giving Latin paucus (“few”).

Details

Cf. the proportions paullus :: paucus like axis :: āla like veicus :: veilla, and with diminutives paullus :: pauxillus like āla :: āxilla like aulla :: auxilla. veilla and aulla showcase the same development of /dipthong + ks/ as the present word. māla, vēlum, pālus are further examples of words formed with the same suffixes.

Against this, De Vaan (2008) notes that "the suffix *-slo- is otherwise only used for instrument nouns, and only after consonant stems; both are reasons to reject a preform *pauk-slo- derived from *pau-ko-", and quotes Thurneysen (1907: 177) as deriving it from Proto-Italic *paurelos, from Proto-Indo-European *péh₂uros, also from *peh₂w-.

However, the regular development of the cluster /wr/ is metathesis, as in parvus, and just this is attested in parvulus. It's difficult to envision a split outcome of metathesis for the base form and its morphologically transparent diminutive (cf. the systematic parallels above). The "instrument nouns" objection can be countered with the striking parallel in pullus (“animal young”) :: pusillus (“tiny”) and by the cross-linguistic tendency to refer to the young with neuter or otherwise objectifying nouns (cf. German -chen); the precise meaning of the suffix also need not have been an instrument.

Further related to Latin pauper, puer, Ancient Greek παῦρος (paûros), English few.

Alternative forms

• paullus

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈpau̯.lus/, [ˈpäu̯ɫ̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈpau̯.lus/, [ˈpäːu̯lus]

Adjective

paulus (feminine paula, neuter paulum, adverb paulō); first/second-declension adjective

1. little, small

Usage notes

Used especially pertaining to size.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	paulus	paula	paulum		paulī	paulae	paula
genitive	paulī	paulae	paulī		paulōrum	paulārum	paulōrum
dative	paulō	paulae	paulō		paulīs
accusative	paulum	paulam	paulum		paulōs	paulās	paula
ablative	paulō	paulā	paulō		paulīs
vocative	paule	paula	paulum		paulī	paulae	paula

Synonyms

• (small): parvus

Antonyms

• (small): avidus, immānis, ingēns, magnus, vāstus

Derived terms

• paulātim
• Paulīna
• paulīnus
• Paulīnus
• paulīsper
• paulō
• paululātim
• paululō
• paululus
• paulum
• Paulus

 

References

• De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “paucus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 450

Further reading

• “paulus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “paulus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• paulus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• paulus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎^[2], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) the delivery is rather halting, poor: actio paulum claudicat
    
• “paulus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “paulus”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray