quisquam
Latin
Etymology
From quis + quam (“any”). Compare to quisque.
Pronunciation
- (Classical Latin) IPA(key): /ˈkʷis.kʷam/, [ˈkʷɪs̠kʷä̃ˑ]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈkwis.kwam/, [ˈkwiskwäm]
Pronoun
quisquam or quīquam (feminine quaequam, neuter quidquam or quicquam); relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion
Declension
Indefinite pronoun.
Number | Singular | Plural | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case / Gender | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
Nominative | quisquam quīquam1 |
quaequam | quidquam | quīquam1 | quaequam | quaequam quaquam2 | |
Genitive | cuiusquam1 | quōrumquam | quārumquam | quōrumquam | |||
Dative | cuiquam1 | quibusquam quīsquam1 | |||||
Accusative | quemquam | quamquam | quidquam | quōsquam | quāsquam | quaequam quaquam2 | |
Ablative | quōquam quīquam |
quāquam quīquam |
quōquam quīquam |
quibusquam quīsquam1 |
1In Republican Latin or earlier, alternative spellings could be found for the following forms of quī/quis and its compounds: the masculine nominative singular or plural quī (old spelling quei), the genitive singular cuius (old spelling quoius), the dative singular cui (old spelling quoi or quoiei), the dative/ablative plural quīs (old spelling queis).
2When used as an indefinite word (pronoun or adjective), the feminine nominative singular and neuter nominative/accusative plural is usually qua (with short ă) instead of quae. Indefinite quă is generally only found directly after sī, nisi, num, or nē and may be considered to be either enclitic to the preceding word or (in Priscian's view) forming a compound with it; accordingly, sīqua, numqua, and nēqua are sometimes written together (as also are the masculines sīquis, numquis, and nēquis). The form quă is never used for the feminine plural, nor for any form of the relative pronoun or of the interrogative pronoun or adjective.
Indefinite pronoun (with d → c assimilation).
Number | Singular | Plural | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Case / Gender | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
Nominative | quisquam quīquam1 |
quaequam | quicquam | quīquam1 | quaequam | quaequam quaquam2 | |
Genitive | cuiusquam1 | quōrumquam | quārumquam | quōrumquam | |||
Dative | cuiquam1 | quibusquam quīsquam1 | |||||
Accusative | quemquam | quamquam | quicquam | quōsquam | quāsquam | quaequam quaquam2 | |
Ablative | quōquam quīquam |
quāquam quīquam |
quōquam quīquam |
quibusquam quīsquam1 |
1In Republican Latin or earlier, alternative spellings could be found for the following forms of quī/quis and its compounds: the masculine nominative singular or plural quī (old spelling quei), the genitive singular cuius (old spelling quoius), the dative singular cui (old spelling quoi or quoiei), the dative/ablative plural quīs (old spelling queis).
2When used as an indefinite word (pronoun or adjective), the feminine nominative singular and neuter nominative/accusative plural is usually qua (with short ă) instead of quae. Indefinite quă is generally only found directly after sī, nisi, num, or nē and may be considered to be either enclitic to the preceding word or (in Priscian's view) forming a compound with it; accordingly, sīqua, numqua, and nēqua are sometimes written together (as also are the masculines sīquis, numquis, and nēquis). The form quă is never used for the feminine plural, nor for any form of the relative pronoun or of the interrogative pronoun or adjective.
Citations
- Plautus, Bacchides. In: Plautus with an English translation by Paul Nixon, vol. I of five volumes, 1916, p. 330f.:
- ne a quoquam acciperes alio mercedem annuam, nisi ab sese, nec cum quiquam limares caput.
- Not to let you take a yearly fee from anyone else but him, or rub heads with anyone.
- ne a quoquam acciperes alio mercedem annuam, nisi ab sese, nec cum quiquam limares caput.
- Plautus, Menaechmi, actus III. In: Plautus with an English translation by Paul Nixon, vol. II of five volumes, 1917, p. 408f.:
- Plus triginta annis natus sum, quom interea loci,
numquam quicquam facinus feci peius neque scelestius,
quam hodie, quom in contionem mediam me immersi miser.- More than thirty years I've lived, and never in all that time have I done a worse or more accursed deed than to-day when I immersed myself, poor fool, in the middle of that public meeting.
- Plus triginta annis natus sum, quom interea loci,
- Plautus, Cistellaria. In: Plautus with an English translation by Paul Nixon, vol. II of five volumes, 1917, p. 120f.:
- quod neque ego habeo neque quisquam alia mulier, ut perhibent viri.
- A mind is something I haven't got, or any other women, either, according to the men.
- quod neque ego habeo neque quisquam alia mulier, ut perhibent viri.
- Plautus, Mostellaria. In: Plautus with an English translation by Paul Nixon, vol. III of five volumes, 1924, p. 352f.:
- ultro te. neque ego taetriorem beluam
vidisse me umquam quemquam quam te censeo.- Off with you! I do believe I never saw a more disgusting beast than you.
- ultro te. neque ego taetriorem beluam
- Plautus, Rudens. In: Plautus with an English translation by Paul Nixon, vol. IV of five volumes, 1930, p. 326f.:
- neque digniorem censeo vidisse anum me quemquam,
cui deos atque homines censeam bene facere magis decere.- I think I never did see a dearer old lady, one I think more deserving of all the good things gods and man can give.
- neque digniorem censeo vidisse anum me quemquam,
- Plautus, Miles gloriosus. In: Plautus with an English translation by Paul Nixon, vol. III of five volumes, 1924, p. 236f.:
- dixi hoc tibi dudum, et nunc dico: nisi huic verri adfertur merces,
non hic suo seminio quemquam porclenam impertiturust.- I told you this before, and I tell you again: this boar must receive compensation, or he won't consort with every little sowlet.
- Note: Friedrich Neue, Formenlehre der Lateinischen Sprache, 2nd part, 2nd edition, Berlin 1875, p. 245 has: "[...] quemquam porcellam Mil. 4, 2, 68 (im vet., decurt. und Vat. des Plaut. proculem, in den Hdschr. [= Handschriften] des Prisc. 5, 3, 13 S. 645 proculenam und porculaenam, porcellam ist eine Verbesserung von Reiz).", that is: "[...] quemquam porcellam in Miles gloriosus 4, 2, 68 (in the codex vetus, codex decurtatus and codex Vaticanus of Plautus proculem, in the manuscripts of Priscianus 5, 3, 13 page 645 proculenam and porculaenam, porcellam is a correction by Reiz)."
- Note 2: In some older works this sentence is cited with the feminine accusative quamquam from which a nominative *quaequam is derived.[1] Some younger works do mention the feminine *quaequam too, but without giving a citation or reference.
- I told you this before, and I tell you again: this boar must receive compensation, or he won't consort with every little sowlet.
- dixi hoc tibi dudum, et nunc dico: nisi huic verri adfertur merces,
Related terms
References
- “quisquam”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “quisquam”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- quisquam in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- quisquam in Ramminger, Johann (2016 July 16 (last accessed)) Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700[1], pre-publication website, 2005-2016
- ^ Wilhelm Freund, Wörterbuch der Lateinischen Sprache, nach historisch-genetischen Principien, mit steter Berücksichtigung der Grammatik, Synonymik und Alterthumskunde, 3rd volume, L–Q, Leipzig, 1845, p. 1146: "quis-quam (archaist. QVIQVAM, S. C. de Bacch.), quaequam, quicquam (quidquam), irgend einer, eine eines, irgend jemand, irgend etwas [...] – Im fem. äußerst selten: Nisi huic verri affertur merces, non hic suo seminio quamquam porculam impertiturus est, Plaut. Mil. gl. 4, 2, 67."