ecce

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin ecce.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (traditional anglicized) /ˈɛksi/, (Latinist) /ˈɛkeɪ/, (ecclesiastical) /ˈɛtʃeɪ/

  • Audio (Southern England):

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Interjection

ecce

1. an interjection used to draw attention to something or someone; behold!
   • 1819 November 24, “Baron Merian to Samuel Butler”, in Complete Works of Samuel Butler, Delphi Classics, published 2015:

     DEAR SIR, — Ecce my notes on the sermon.

   • 2013, T. Bonfiglio, Why is English Literature?:, →ISBN, page 58:

     Ecce the rise of literature in the modern vernaculars, even the mother tongue

Synonyms

• See Thesaurus:lo

See also

• ecce homo

Anagrams

• ECEC

Latin

Etymology

From ec- +‎ -ce.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈek.ke/, [ˈɛkːɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈet.t͡ʃe/, [ˈɛtː͡ʃe]

Interjection

ecce

1. see!, look!, behold!, points out something with emphasis

   Quem quaero, optime ecce obviam mihi est.

   Behold! There comes he I was wishing for.

   Ecce hominem miserum.

   Behold, a sad man.

   Ecce autem video rure redeuntem senem.

   But look, I see the old man returning to the country.

2. (mostly elliptical) here!, or here am/are/is!; used to denote that something is present (compare French voici or Italian ecco)

   Quid cessamus ludos facere? Circus noster ecce adest!

   Why should we stop playing games? We have our theatre here!

   Quid me quaeris? Ecce me.

   Are you searching for me? Here I am.

   Ecce.

   Here I am.

   Ecce odium meum. Quid me vis?

   See here my aversion. What is it you want with me?

   Ecce tuae litterae de Varrone.

   Lo and behold, your letters about Varro!

   • (Can we date this quote?), Stasimus in the play Trinummus by Titus Maccius Plautus

     Ecce hominem te, Stasime, nihili.

     See now, Stasimus, what a worthless fellow you are.

Usage notes

• This word is sometimes used in the middle of a clause.

  Audiat haec tantum—vel qui venit ecce Palaemon.

• The interjection is particularly used in:
  • After objects mentioned or enumerations, to introduce a new one with emphasis:

    Consecuti sunt hos Critias, Theramenes, Lysias, etc. ... ecce tibi exortus est Isocrates.

    They followed Critias, Theramenes, Lysias, etc. lo there arises Isocrates to thee.

Derived terms

• ecca
• eccam
• eccās
• ecce hīc
• ecce hoc
• eccere
• eccillum
• eccistam
• eccistum
• eccōs
• eccum
• ellam
• *ecce hāc
• *ecce ille
• *ecce inde
• *ecce iste

Descendants

• Neapolitan: ce
• Old French: es, ez, eis, as, ais
• Old Galician-Portuguese: aque
  • Galician: aque (archaic)

See also

• Ecce Quam Bonum (behold, how good)
• Ecce Homo (behold the man)
• Ecce Cor Meum (behold my heart)
• Ecce homo qui est faba (Behold the man who is a bean)

References

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “ecce”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volumes 3: D–F, page 202

Further reading

• “ecce”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “ecce”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• ecce in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Tocharian B

Etymology

From Proto-Tocharian *ecye (whence also Tocharian A aci), of further unknown origin.

Adverb

ecce

1. hither, to here

Further reading

• Adams, Douglas Q. (2013) “ecce”, in A Dictionary of Tocharian B: Revised and Greatly Enlarged (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 10), Amsterdam, New York: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 83