Latin edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

Inherited from Proto-Indo-European *snusós, remade into an u-stem likely by influence of socrus, -ūs (mother in law).[1] The first -u- is unexpected, as original *-u- before -r- arising from *-s- would have been expected to lower to *-o- (cf. serō < *sish₁-). The expected outcome is nevertheless reflected in most Romance descendants (eg. Spanish nuera, Italian nuora, etc.),[2] although they could be secondary, and shifted from the attested -u- by influence of other female kinship terms such as socrus or soror (sister).[3] The variant ending in -a, also found in Romance descendants but attested already in the Appendix Probi, while also conceivably secondary,[3] reflects a Proto-Indo-European *snus-éh₂ also reflected in Proto-Germanic *snuzō, Proto-Slavic *snъxà and Sanskrit स्नुषा (snuṣā́).

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

nurus f (genitive nurūs); fourth declension

  1. daughter-in-law
    • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 4.161–162:
      semper ad Aeneadās placidō, pulcherrima, voltū
      respice totque tuās, dīva, tuēre nurūs.
      Goddess most beautiful, with a pleased expression [may you] always look upon the descendants of Aeneas, and protect your daughters-in-law, so numerous.
  2. (transferred sense) young married woman, young lady

Declension edit

Fourth-declension noun.

Case Singular Plural
Nominative nurus nurūs
Genitive nurūs nuruum
Dative nuruī nuribus
Accusative nurum nurūs
Ablative nurū nuribus
Vocative nurus nurūs

Descendants edit

References edit

  1. ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “norus, -ūs”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 420
  2. ^ Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 38
  3. 3.0 3.1 Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “nŭrus”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 7: N–Pas, page 246

Further reading edit

  • nurus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • nurus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • nurus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • nurus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette