acrus

Latin

Etymology

Reassignment of Classical Latin ācer from the third declension to the first/second, facilitated by the fact that the nominative singular ācer can itself be taken as a second declension form, initially yielding a paradigm ācer/ācra/ācrum (compare Classical Latin niger/nigra/nigrum 'black').^[1] The wide distribution of its descendants across the branches of Romance implies that its presence in the oral language considerably predates its appearance in writing.^[1]

Adjective

ācrus (feminine ācra, neuter ācrum); first/second-declension adjective (Late Latin^[2], proscribed)

alternative form of ācer (“sour, bitter”)
- c. AD 375, Flavius Sosipater Charisius, Artis grammaticae libri V. 1.117:
  acrum tamen pro acrem Cn. Matius Iliados XV ⟨ut⟩ Vindex a litterae libro I notat
  But 'acrum' for 'acrem' Gnaeus Matius Iliados XV ⟨as⟩ Vindex notes in book 1 of letter A
- [3rd–4th century, Appendix Probi, line 41:
  acre non acrum
  (The correct form is) acre, not acrum]

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	masculine	feminine	neuter	masculine	feminine	neuter
	singular			plural
nominative	ācrus	ācra	ācrum	ācrī	ācrae	ācra
genitive	ācrī	ācrae	ācrī	ācrōrum	ācrārum	ācrōrum
dative	ācrō	ācrae	ācrō	ācrīs
accusative	ācrum	ācram	ācrum	ācrōs	ācrās	ācra
ablative	ācrō	ācrā	ācrō	ācrīs
vocative	ācre	ācra	ācrum	ācrī	ācrae	ācra

Descendants

Balkan Romance:
- Aromanian: acru
- Megleno-Romanian: acru
- Romanian: acru
Italo-Romance:
- Italian: acro (rare or obsolescent)
- Sicilian: àguru
North Italian:
- Friulian: agri
- Istriot: agrùn
- Ladin: egher
- Lombard: agher, agar
- Piedmontese: àire
- Venetan: agro
- → Italian: agro
Gallo-Romance:
- Catalan: agre
- Franco-Provençal: éro; égro
- Old French: aire; aigre, egre (see there for further descendants)
  - Poitevin-Saintongeais: âre
- Occitan: agre
- → Old Galician-Portuguese:
  - Galician: agre
  - Portuguese: agre
- → Old Spanish: agre
Ibero-Romance:
- Aragonese: agro
- Asturian: agru
- Old Spanish: agro
  - Spanish: agrio (influenced by agriar)
- Portuguese: agro
Insular Romance:
- Sardinian: acru (Nuorese), agru

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang (2008–), “*/ˈakr-u/ adj.”, in Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman, Nancy: Analyse et Traitement Informatique de la Langue Française, retrieved 24 March 2023: “Ce type flexionnel innovant est précédé par le type acer, acra, acrum (dp. déb. 1^er s. av. J.-Chr., Ernout/Meillet₄ s.v. ac-).”
^ Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “acer”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 24: Refonte A–Aorte, pages 94–99: “Alle rom. formen beruhen auf einer seit dem 3. jh. im lt. belegten nebenform acrus, die besonders in medizinischen texten vorkommt und über deren bildung Niedermann Neue Jahrb. 1912, 324 gehandelt hat.”

[DÉRom-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang (2008–), “*/ˈakr-u/ adj.”, in Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman, Nancy: Analyse et Traitement Informatique de la Langue Française, retrieved 24 March 2023: “Ce type flexionnel innovant est précédé par le type acer, acra, acrum (dp. déb. 1^er s. av. J.-Chr., Ernout/Meillet₄ s.v. ac-).”

[2] Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “acer”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 24: Refonte A–Aorte, pages 94–99: “Alle rom. formen beruhen auf einer seit dem 3. jh. im lt. belegten nebenform acrus, die besonders in medizinischen texten vorkommt und über deren bildung Niedermann Neue Jahrb. 1912, 324 gehandelt hat.”

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