umquam

Latin

Alternative forms

• unquam (later)

Etymology

Perhaps from *quomquam, from quom (later cum) and quam (“any”). Compare cumque, ultimately from cum +‎ -quam (“any”)

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈʊŋ.kʷãː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈum.kʷam]

Adverb

umquam (not comparable)

1. (chiefly in the negative) at any time, ever; (with negative) never
   • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 2.246–247:

     “Tunc etiam fātīs aperit Cassandra futūrīs
     ōra deī iussū nōn umquam crēdita Teucrīs.”

     “Then once more Cassandra had spoken, revealing the future: A voice [which], by decree of a god, the Trojans were never to believe.”
     (See also: Cassandra.)

Usage notes

Most frequently in negative clauses, sometimes also in interrogations and in conditional clauses; but very seldom in affirmations

Synonyms

• quandō (following sī or num)

Derived terms

• numquam
• *dunquam

Related terms

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

type	demonstrative			anaphoric	identity	interrogative			indefinite					irrealis		alternative
	proximal	medial	distal			indefinite	irrelative / emphatic	relative		irrelative	free choice	universal	negative polarity	negative	conditional
basic	hic	iste istic	ille illic	is	ipse īdem	ecquis ecquī ecquisnam ecquīnam quisquamne	quisnam quīnam	quis quī	quisquis quīcumque	quis quī quīdam aliquis aliquī quispiam	quīvis quīlibet	quisque	quisquam ūllus °aliquisquam	nēquisquam nēmō nihil nūllus	sīquis	alius
possessive*						°eccuius cuiusquamne	cuiusnam	cuius	cuiuscumque	alicuius cuiusdam	cuiusvīs	cuiusque	cuiusquam	nēcuiusquam
comparative	huiusmodī huiuscemodī	istī̆usmodī	illī̆usmodī	eiusmodī	eiusdemmodī		cuiusnammodī	cuiusmodī	cuiusmodīcumque	alicuiusmodī cuiusdammodī	cuiusvīsmodī	cuiusquemodī	cuiusquammodī	nēcuiusquammodī	sīcuiusmodī	alterī̆usmodī
dual						uterne	uternam	uter	utercumque	alteruter	utervīs uterlibet	uterque		neuter		alter
dual (alternation)				iterum		utrumne	utrumnam	utrum	utrumcumque	alterutrum	utrumvīs utrumlibet	utrumque		neutrum		alterum
dual (place, time)								utrās °utribi	utrāscumque	alterutrās	utrāsvīs utrāslibet	utrāsque		neutrās		alterās
dual (source)								utrim °utrinde	utrimcumque	alterutrim	utrimvīs utrimlibet	utrimque		neutrim		alterim
dual (destination)								utrō	utrōcumque	alterutrō	utrōvīs utrōlibet	utrōque		neutrō		alterō
dual (path)								utrā	utrācumque	alterutrā	utrāvīs utrālibet	utrāque		neutrā		alterā
place	hīc	istīc	illīc	ibī̆	ibī̆dem	usquamne	ubinam	ubī̆	ubī̆cumque ubiubī̆	alicubī̆ uspiam	ubivīs ubilibet	ubīque usque	usquam	nusquam nūllibī	sīcubī	alibī aliās
source	hinc	istinc	illinc	inde	indidem	°undiquamne	undenam	unde	undecumque undeunde	alicunde	°undelibet	undique	°undiquam	°nūllunde	sīcunde	aliunde
destination	hūc °hōrsum	istūc °istōrsum	illūc °illōrsum	eō	eōdem	ecquō °quōquamne	quōnam	quō quōrsum	quōcumque quōquō °quōrsumcumque	aliquō quōpiam °aliquōvorsum	quōvīs quōlibet	quōque	quōquam	nusquam °nūllōrsum	sīquō	aliō aliōrsum
method, means, path, place	hāc	istāc	illāc	eā	eādem	ecquā °quāquamne	quānam	quā	quācumque quāquā	aliquā	quāvīs quālibet	quāque	°quāquam ūllā	nēquāquam haudquāquam	sīquā	aliā
distance	hāctenus	°istātenus °istāctenus	°illātenus °illāctenus	eātenus		ecquātenus °quāquamne tenus	quātenusnam	quātenus	°quātenuscumque °quāquātenus	aliquātenus quādantenus	quātenusvīs quātenuslibet		°quāquamtenus ūllātenus	nūllātenus		aliātenus
manner	hōc modō	istō modō	illō modō	ita sīc, eō modō	item itidem	°quīquamne	utinam	ut prout quī quō modō quōmodo quemadmodum	utcumque utut proutcumque quōmodocumque °quemadmodumcumque	quī quōdam modō aliquō modō	quōmodolibet	utīque	°utiquam °quīquam ūllō modō	nihil neutiquam neutī̆que nēquīquam nūllō modō		aliter aliōquī alterō/aliō modō
time	†num nunc	†dum dunc dūdum	ōlim	tum tunc	simul	ecquandō umquamne	quandōnam	quandō ‡cum	cumque quandōcumque quandōque °quandōnē °quandōquandō °cumcumque	quondam aliquandō	quandōlibet	quandōque	umquam	numquam	sīquandō	aliās
quantity				tam	†tamen †tandem	quamquamne		quam	quamcumque †quamquam	aliquam	quamvīs quamlibet	quamque	†quamquam		sīquam quasi
size				tantus	tantusdem			quantus	quantuscumque quantusquantus	aliquantus	quantusvīs quantuslibet	quantusque
extend				tantum	tantundem			quantum	quantumcumque	aliquantum	quantumvīs quantumlibet	quantumque
intensity				tantō tantopere				quantō quantopere	quantōcumque	aliquantō aliquantopere	quantōlibet	quantōque
size (smallness)				tantulus				quantulus °quantillus	quantuluscumque	aliquantulus	°quantuluslibet	quantulusque °quantulusquisque
extend (smallness)				tantulum				quantulum °quantillum	quantulumcumque	aliquantulum	°quantulumlibet	quantulumque °quantulumquisque
size (greatness)				tammagnus				quammagnus	quammagnuscumque	aliquammagnus	°quammagnuslibet
quality				tālis		ecquālis	quālisnam	quālis	quāliscumque quālisquālis	aliquālis	quālislibet	quālisque		nihilī
comparative (quality)				tāliter				quāliter	quālitercumque °quāliterquāliter	aliquāliter	°quāliterlibet	°quāliterque
comparative (quantity)				tālia				quālia	quāliacumque °quāliaquālia	aliquālia	quālialibet	quāliaque
number				tot	totidem		quotinam	quot	quotquot quotcumque	aliquot	quotlibet			nūlla
order/fractional				totus				quotus	quotuscumque	aliquotus	quotuslibet	°quotusque °quotusquisque
repetition				totiēns				quotiēns	quotiēnscumque	aliquotiēns	quotiēnslibet	quotiēnsque °quotiēnsquisque
duration				tamdiū tantīsper				quamdiū quantīsper	quamdiūcumque	aliquamdiū aliquantīsper	quamdiūlibet	quamque diū
reason				eāpropter				cūr quāpropter	quāproptercumque	aliquāpropter
multiplication				totuplex				quotuplex
proportion				°totuplus				quotuplus
distributive								quotēnus
time (future)								°quantūrus
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat changed ° Rare ‡ Only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative. * Old Latin; ridiculed by most grammarians in later stages.

Descendants

(Note: several forms reflect the addition of an adverbial /-s/.)

• Balkan Romance:
  • Romanian: încă
• Italo-Romance:
  • Old Italian: unqua, unque
    • Italian: -unque
• Gallo-Italic:
  • Old Ligurian: unca
  • Old Lombard: unca, uncha, unchan
• Gallo-Romance:
  • Franco-Provençal: onques
  • French: onc, onques (obsolete)
  • Norman: onc
• Occitano-Romance:
  • Old Occitan: oncas (central), onc, unques (Béarn)
    • Occitan: onc (Rouergue)

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “ŭmquam”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 14: U–Z, page 26

Further reading

• “umquam”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “umquam”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “umquam”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • nothing will ever make me forgetful of him: memoriam eius nulla umquam delebit (obscurabit) oblivio (Fam. 2. 1)