propinquus

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin prop(e)

Latin (h)inc

Proto-Indo-European *-wós

Proto-Italic *-wos

Latin -uus

Latin propinquus

From prop(e) (“near”) + (h)inc (“hence”) + -uus. Compare longinquus.

Or the ending may come from some Proto-Indo-European *-n̥kʷo- seen in Ancient Greek ἀλλοδ-απός (allod-após), ποδ-απός (pod-após) (their first parts here correspond to Latin aliud, quod) etc. See also Proto-Germanic *-ungō.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [prɔˈpɪŋ.kʊs]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [proˈpiŋ.kʷus]

Adjective

propinquus (feminine propinqua, neuter propinquum, comparative propinquior); first/second-declension adjective

1. (of space) near, nearby, neighboring

   Synonyms: vīcīnus, contiguus, fīnitimus, proximus

   Antonyms: remōtus, longinquus

2. (of time) near, at hand, not far off
3. (of appearance) resembling, similar, like, alike
4. (of a relationship) kindred, related
   • 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita I.14:

     propinqui regis Tatii legatos Laurentium pulsant

     The relatives of the king Tatius mistreated the ambassadors of the Laurentians

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	propinquus	propinqua	propinquum		propinquī	propinquae	propinqua
genitive	propinquī	propinquae	propinquī		propinquōrum	propinquārum	propinquōrum
dative	propinquō	propinquae	propinquō		propinquīs
accusative	propinquum	propinquam	propinquum		propinquōs	propinquās	propinqua
ablative	propinquō	propinquā	propinquō		propinquīs
vocative	propinque	propinqua	propinquum		propinquī	propinquae	propinqua

Derived terms

• propinqua
• propinquē
• propinquitās
• propinquō
• propinquum

Related terms

• prope
• propediem
• propemodum
• propiō
• propior
• propitius

Descendants

• Italo-Romance:
  • Old Italian: >? propinco
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Old Occitan: probenc
    • → Sicilian: pruvincu (Calabrian)
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: provinco
  • Old Spanish: prominco
• Borrowings:
  • → Catalan: propinc
  • → French: propinque
    • → English: propinque
  • → Galician: propinco
  • → Italian: propinquo
  • → Portuguese: propínquo
  • → Spanish: propincuo

References

• Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 3, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 810
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “prŏpĭnquus”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 9: Placabilis–Pyxis, page 453

Further reading

• “propinquus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “propinquus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "propinquus", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “propinquus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.