ecqui

Latin

Etymology 1

From ec- + quī.

Determiner

ecquī or ecquei or ecquis (feminine ecqua or ecquae, neuter ecquod); indeclinable portion with a relative/interrogative determiner

(determiner, used in direct questions) (is/are/does/do) ... any ...?
- 234 BCE – 149 BCE, Marcus Porcius Cato, Origines 91 (fragment cited in Aulus Gellius):^[1]
  Ecqua tandem lex est tam acerba, quae dicat...
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- c. 191 BCE, Plautus, Pseudolus 1.5:
  Ecquas viginti minas
  paritas ut auferas a me?
  And you are making ready to get eighty pounds out of me?
- 70 BCE, Cicero, In Verrem 2.4.18:
  Ecqui pudor est, ecquae religio, Verres, ecqui metus?
  Do you have any modesty, any scruples, Verres, any fear?
- 57 BCE, Cicero, De domo sua 24.15:
  si quae tum promulgasti constituisti promisisti vendidisti perferre potuisses, ecqui locus orbi terrarum vacuus extraordinariis fascibus atque imperio Clodiano fuisset?
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- 56 BCE, Cicero, Pro Sestio 110.17:
  Ecquae seditio umquam fuit in qua non ille princeps? Ecqui seditiosus cui ille non familiaris? Ecquae turbulenta contio cuius ille non concitator?
  1958 translation by R. Gardner
  Was there ever any riot in which he was not the leader? any rioter with whom he was not intimate? any disorderly meeting where he was not the ringleader?
- 8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 4.488:
  vox erat "hac gressus ecqua puella tulit?"
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- 12 CE – 13 CE, Ovidius, Epistulae ex Ponto IV.10.3–10.4:
  ecquos tu silices, ecquod, carissime, ferrum
  duritiae confers, Albinovane, meae?
  Can you compare any flint, Albinovanus, any iron to my endurance?
(determiner, used in indirect questions) whether any
- 68 BCE – 44 BCE, Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum 10.3.1:
  Cum quod scriberem plane nihil haberem, haec autem reliqua essent quae scire cuperem, profectusne esset, quo in statu urbem reliquisset, in ipsa Italia quem cuique regioni aut negotio praefecisset, ecqui essent ad Pompeium et ad consules ex senatus consulto de pace legati, cum igitur haec scire ⟨cupere⟩m dedita opera has ad te litteras misi.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)
- 63 BCE, Cicero, De lege agraria 2.39.4:
  Primum hoc quaero, ecqui tandem locus usquam sit quem non possint xviri dicere publicum populi Romani esse factum.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)
(pronoun, used in direct questions) anyone, anything?
- c. 200 BCE, Plautus, Stichus 222:^[2]
  Qui cena poscit? Ecqui poscit prandio?
  1952 translation by Paul Nixon
  Who offers a dinner? (silence) Anyone offer a lunch? (more silence)
(pronoun, used in indirect questions) whether anyone, anything
- 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 26.33.7:
  "In consilio" inquit "arbitror me fuisse consulibus, Capua capta cum quaereretur ecqui Campanorum bene meritus de re publica nostra esset.
  1943 translation by Frank Gardner Moore
  "I testify," he said, "that I was one of the advisers to the consuls when, after the capture of Capua, the question was raised whether there was anyone of the Campanians who had deserved well of our republic.

Usage notes

Becomes infrequent after Cicero's era.^[1]
The nominative singular ecquī is usually a determiner (used adjectivally), but can also be found used as a pronoun/substantive in Plautus^[1] and in Livy. However, the nominative singular of the pronoun is more often ecquis.

Declension

Indeclinable portion with a relative/interrogative determiner.

	masculine	feminine	neuter	masculine	feminine	neuter
	singular			plural
nominative	ecquī ecquei¹ ecquis¹	ecqua ecquae	ecquod	ecquī ecquei¹	ecquae	ecqua ecquae
genitive	—			—
dative	eccui ecquoi¹ ecquoī / quoei¹ ecquoiī / quoiei¹			—
accusative	ecquem	ecquam	ecquod	ecquōs	ecquās	ecqua ecquae
ablative	ecquō ecquī²	ecquā ecquī²	ecquō ecquī²	—
vocative	—			—

¹Republican Latin.
²Quī is occasionally used as an ablative singular, whence quīcum (“with whom”); it was originally preferred in instrumental meanings.

The declension is similar to aliquī. In particular, the feminine nominative singular and neuter nominative/accusative plural forms are normally ecqua, but ecquae is also found. The feminine nominative plural can only be ecquae.
The following forms are unattested in Classical Latin, although they may possibly be found in more recent texts: genitive singular eccuius, masculine/neuter genitive plural ecquōrum, feminine genitive plural ecquārum, dative/ablative plural ecquibus.

Etymology 2

From ec- + quī (adverb).

Adverb

ecquī (not comparable)

(used in direct questions) In any way?
(used in indirect questions) whether in any way
- c. 186 BCE, Plautus, Aulularia prologus.0.15–17:
  Ubi is obiit mortem qui mihi id aurum credidit,
  coepi observare, ecqui maiorem filius
  mihi honorem haberet quam eius habuisset pater.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Bodelot, Colette (2023), “Ecquis in 'Early Latin': Aspects of Questions”, in J. N. Adams, Anna Chahoud, Giuseppe Pezzini, Charlie Kerrigan, editors, Early Latin: Constructs, Diversity, Reception, Cambridge University Press, pages 138-156
^ Nixon, Paul (1952), Plautus with an English translation, volume 5, page 28f