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iuvenis

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Latin

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey-
Proto-Indo-European *-u
Proto-Indo-European *h₂óyu
Proto-Indo-European *-Hō
Proto-Indo-European *h₂yéwHō
Proto-Italic *juwō
Latin iuvenis

    Inherited from Proto-Italic *juwō, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yéwHō (“young”).[1] Cognate with Sanskrit युवन् (yúvan), Persian جوان (javân), Old Irish óc (early OIr: óac), Old English ġeong (whence English young). The Latin nominative singular form iuvenis is an innovation replacing expected *iuvō (compare Sanskrit युवा (yuvā)). The ending -is was introduced from i-stem nouns. However, in forms other than the nominative singular, iuvenis continues to be inflected in Latin as a consonant-stem noun. Compare canis from *ḱwṓ.

    The second syllable shows no vowel weakening, even though *-e- in medial open syllables usually became Latin -i-. The -e- might have been retained by analogical influence from the antonym sen- (“old man”), or alternatively, from the suffixed forms iuventūs, iuventās.[2]

    Pronunciation

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    Noun

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    iuvenis m or f (genitive iuvenis); third declension

    1. A youth, a young man, young woman, young adult (between ages 20-40), (older than an adulescens but younger than a senior/senex)
      Antonym: senex

    Usage notes

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    • In classical Latin, the age of a iuvenis ranged approximately from 20 to 40. In medieval Latin, the classical definition continued to be used, but the word could sometimes refer instead to younger ages such as 14-19, overlapping with the sense of classical Latin adulēscēns or even puer.[3]

    Declension

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    Third-declension noun.

    singular plural
    nominative iuvenis iuvenēs
    genitive iuvenis iuvenum
    dative iuvenī iuvenibus
    accusative iuvenem iuvenēs
    ablative iuvene iuvenibus
    vocative iuvenis iuvenēs

    Adjective

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    iuvenis (genitive iuvenis, comparative iūnior or iuvenior); third-declension one-termination adjective (non-i-stem)

    1. youthful, young
      Antonyms: senex, grandaevus, vetus, vetulus
      Near-synonyms: iuvenīlis, novus, novellus, recēns, adulēscēns
      • 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita 7.10.1.1:
        Diu inter primores iuvenum Romanorum silentium fuit
        • 1924 translation by Benjamin Oliver Foster
          The young Roman nobles were for a long time silent.
      • c. 100 CE – 110 CE, Tacitus, Historiae 4.8.18:
        Suadere etiam Prisco ne supra principem scanderet, ne Vespasianum senem triumphalem, iuvenum liberorum patrem, praeceptis coerceret.
        (please add an English translation of this quotation)
      • before late 4th century CE[4], pseudo-Quintilian, Declamationes Maiores 9.23.12:
        Si quis grandis natu parens est, miserebitur senis, si quis iuvenis filius, miserebitur adolescentis.
        If anyone is an aged parent, he will commiserate with the old; if anyone is a young son, he will commiserate with the young.

    Usage notes

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    • In Classical Latin, this adjective often implies a more specific phase of life than merely 'not yet old', typically referring to young adults rather than infants or children (which might instead be described as recēns or parvus). See the note beneath the noun for more details on the typical age range when applied to a human. There are attestations in Imperial Latin that show overlap rather than contrast with the age category denoted by the word adulēscēns. A sense 'immature' or 'not adult' is attested in New Latin.
    • When used as an adjective of the positive degree, it is normally masculine or feminine with the same consonant-stem forms as the noun. Positive forms not shared with the noun (e.g. i-stem ablative singular iuvenī, genitive plural iuvenium, neuter nominative/accusative singular iuvene, neuter plural iuvenia) are unattested in Classical Latin, and seen only occasionally in Medieval or New Latin texts. Some i-stem forms are specifically stated to be absent by Latin grammarians.[5][6]
    • The superlative (iuvenissimus) is not attested in Classical Latin: the sense of "youngest" is expressed by other means, such as the phrase natū minimus (literally "least in age").

    Declension

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    Third-declension one-termination adjective (non-i-stem).

    singular plural
    masc./fem. masc./fem.
    nominative iuvenis iuvenēs
    genitive iuvenis iuvenum
    dative iuvenī iuvenibus
    accusative iuvenem iuvenīs
    iuvenēs
    ablative iuvene iuvenibus
    vocative iuvenis iuvenēs
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    Descendants

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    References

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    1. ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “iuvenis”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 317-8
    2. ^ Sihler, Andrew L. (1995), New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, pages 67-68
    3. ^ G. P. Klubertanz (1954), “The Teaching of Thomistic Metaphysics”, in Gregorianum, volume 35, number 2, pages 7-9
    4. ^ M. Winterbottom (22 December 2015), “Declamationes pseudo-Quintilianeae”, in Oxford Classical Dictionary‎[1], Oxford University Press
    5. ^ Priscian (c. AD 500), Heinrich Keil, editor, Grammatici Latini Ex recensione Henrici Keilii / Vol. 2 Prisciani Institutionum Grammaticarum Libri I-XII ex recensione Martini Hertzii, published 1855, page 353: “excipiuntur 'iuvenis a iuvene iuvenum', 'canis a cane canum', 'panis a pane panum'; carent enim i paenultima semper. ― Excepted are 'iuvenis a iuvene iuvenum', 'canis a cane canum', 'panis a pane panum'; for they always lack penultimate i.”
    6. ^ Pseudo-Probus/Probus minor (c. 4th century), Heinrich Keil, editor, Grammatici Latini / 4 Probi Donati Servii qui feruntur de Arte Grammatica Libri ex recensione H. Keilii‎[2], volume 4, published 1864, page 68: “nunc etiam hoc monemus, quod hoc nomen, id est iuvenis, in genere neutro propter metri vel structurae sonum numerum pluralem facere prohibeatur. ― Now we also advise that this noun, that is 'iuvenis', should not be made plural in the neuter gender for reasons of the sound of the meter or structure.”
    7. ^ AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 51: “giovani” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it

    Further reading

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