quicumque

Latin

Alternative forms

• quīcunque
• quīcũque (medieval, renaissance, early modern)
• quī ... cumque (with tmesis/diacope)

Etymology

From quī +‎ -cumque. Quicunque is a later development reflecting the assimilated pronunciation.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /kʷiːˈkun.kʷe/, [kʷiːˈkʊŋkʷɛ]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /kwiˈkun.kwe/, [kwiˈkuŋkwe]

Pronoun

quīcumque (feminine quaecumque, neuter quodcumque); relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion

1. whoever, whatever
   • 2022 November 9, Wikipedia contributors, “Petrus Ramus”, in English Wikipedia‎^[1], Wikimedia Foundation:

     Quaecumque ab Aristotele dicta essent, commentitia esse

     Whatever things have been stated by Aristotle, they are false.

1. whosoever, whatsoever

Usage notes

• quīcumque is used both adjectivally and substantivally.
• Cato is cited with the archaic plural form quescumque (from ques).

Declension

Relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	quīcumque	quaecumque	quodcumque		quīcumque1	quaecumque
Genitive	cuiuscumque1				quōrumcumque	quārumcumque	quōrumcumque
Dative	cuicumque1				quibuscumque quīscumque1
Accusative	quemcumque	quamcumque	quodcumque		quōscumque	quāscumque	quaecumque
Ablative	quōcumque	quācumque	quōcumque		quibuscumque quīscumque1

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).

Quotations

• Gajus Sallustius Crispus, Bellum Jugurthinum In: Sallust with an English translation by J. C. Rolfe, 1921, p. 362f.:

  Eos ad Marium ac deinde, si placeat, Romam legatos ire iubet ; agundarum rerum et quocumque modo belli componundi licentiam ipsis permittit.

  These he ordered to go as envoys to Marius and then, if it seemed advisable, to Rome, giving them complete freedom of action and permission to make peace on any terms.

• 43 B.C., letter of Asinius Pollio to Cicero. In: Cicero The Letters to his Friends with an English translation by W. Glynn Williams, vol. II of three volumes, 1952, p. 402f.:

  Ita si id agitur, ut rursus in potestate omnia unius sint, quicumque is est, ei me profiteor inimicum.

  If therefore events are so developing as to put all power again in the hands of one man, whosoever that man is, I declare myself his foe;

• Propertius, liber IV (of four books). In: Propertius with an English translation by H. E. Butler, 1916, p. 262f.:

  Hoc quodcumque vides, hospes, qua maxima Roma est,
  ante Phrygem Aenean collis et herba fuit;

  All that thou beholdest, stranger, where mighty Rome lies spread, was grass and hill before the coming of Phrygian Aeneas;

• Cornelius Nepos, Datames

  Namque is pollicitus est regi se eum interfecturum, si ei rex permitteret, ut, quodcumque vellet, liceret impune facere, fidemque de ea re more Persarum dextra dedisset.

  for Mithridates promised the king that he would kill Datames, if the king would allow him to do with impunity whatever he wished, and would give him a pledge to that effect with his right hand after the manner of the Persians.

Related terms

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

type	interrogative	indefinite	(medial) demonstrative	proximal demonstrative	distal demonstrative	relative	indefinite relative	identity	other
basic	quis, quī	quis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quisque, quisquam, aliquisquam, quispiam, ūllus	is, iste, istic	hic	ille, illic	quī	quisquis, quīcumque	ipse, īdem	alter, alius
dual	uter	alteruter, uterque				uter	utercumque
number	quot	aliquot	tot			quot	quotquot, quotcumque	totidem
order	quotus		totus			quotus	quotuscumque
quantity	quam	aliquam	tam			quam	†quamquam	†tamen, †tandem
size	quantus	aliquantus	tantus			quantus	quantuscumque	tantusdem
quality	quālis	aliquālis	tālis			quālis	quālis, quāliscumque
manner	ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum	utique, quī, quōdam modō, aliquō modō	ita, sic, eō/istō modō	hōc modō	illō modō	ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum	utut, utcumque, quōmodocumque	item, itidem	aliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō
method, path, place	quā	aliquā, quāque	eā, istāc	hāc	illāc	quā	quāquā, quācumque	eādem	aliā
place	ubi	alicubi, ubique, usquam, uspiam	ibi, istic	hīc	illīc	ubi	ubiubi, ubicumque	ibidem	alibī, aliās
source	unde	alicunde, undeunde	inde, istinc	hinc	illinc	unde	undecumque	indidem	aliunde
destination	quō, quōrsum	aliquō, quōquam, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsum	eō, istūc, °istōrsum	hūc, °hōrsum	illūc, °illōrsum	quō	quōquō, quōcumque	eōdem	aliō, aliorsum
time	quandō	quondam, aliquandō, quandōque, umquam	tum, tunc	num, nunc	ōlim	cum, quandō	cumque, quandōcumque, quandōque	simul	aliās
exact time	quota hōra		ea/ista hōra	hac hōra	illa hōra	quota hōra	quotacumque hōra	eadem hōra	altera/alia hōra
repetition	quotiēns	aliquotiēns	totiēns			quotiēns	quotiēnscumque
multiplication	quotuplex		totuplex			quotuplex
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated ° Rare

Descendants

• → English: quicumque vult, quicunque vult

References

• “quīcumque (or -cunque), quaecumque, quodcumque”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “quīcumque (not -cunque), quaecumque, quodcumque”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• quīcumquĕ (-cunquĕ), quæc-, quodc- in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1298