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iuvenis

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Latin

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Proto-Italic *juwenis, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂yéwHō.[1] Cognate with Sanskrit युवन् (yúvan), Persian جوان (javân), Old Irish óc (early OIr: óac), Old English ġeong (whence English young).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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iuvenis m or f (genitive iuvenis); third declension

  1. A youth, a young man, young woman, young adult (between ages 20-40), (older than an adulescens but younger than a senior/senex)
    Antonym: senex

Usage notes

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  • In classical Latin, the age of a iuvenis ranged approximately from 20 to 40. By today's standards, English speakers would not call a man who is thirty-eight years of age a "young adult", but in classical Latin, this was common practice. In medieval Latin, the classical definition continued to be used, but the word could sometimes refer instead to younger ages such as 14-19, overlapping with the sense of classical Latin adulēscēns or even puer.[2]

Declension

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Third-declension noun.

singular plural
nominative iuvenis iuvenēs
genitive iuvenis iuvenum
dative iuvenī iuvenibus
accusative iuvenem iuvenēs
ablative iuvene iuvenibus
vocative iuvenis iuvenēs

Adjective

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iuvenis (genitive iuvenis, comparative iūnior or iuvenior); third-declension one-termination adjective (non-i-stem)

  1. youthful, young
    Synonyms: iuvenīlis, novus, novellus, recēns, adulēscēns
    Antonyms: senex, grandaevus, vetus, vetulus
    • 27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita 7.10.1.1:
      Diu inter primores iuvenum Romanorum silentium fuit
      • 1924 translation by Benjamin Oliver Foster
        The young Roman nobles were for a long time silent.
    • c. 100 CE – 110 CE, Tacitus, Histories 4.8.18:
      Suadere etiam Prisco ne supra principem scanderet, ne Vespasianum senem triumphalem, iuvenum liberorum patrem, praeceptis coerceret.
    • before late 4th century CE[3], pseudo-Quintilian, Declamationes Maiores 9.23.12:
      Si quis grandis natu parens est, miserebitur senis, si quis iuvenis filius, miserebitur adolescentis.
      If anyone is an aged parent, he will commiserate with the old; if anyone is a young son, he will commiserate with the young.

Usage notes

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  • In the positive degree, normally used as a masculine or feminine adjective with the same consonant-stem forms as the noun. Other forms (e.g. i-stem ablative singular iuvenī or genitive plural iuvenium, neuter nominative/accusative singular iuvene or plural iuvenia) are not attested in Classical Latin, and are seen only occasionally in Medieval or New Latin texts. Some are specifically noted to be absent by grammarians.[4][5]
  • In Classical Latin, when applied to a human, this adjective often implies a more specific phase of life than merely 'not yet old', typically referring to young adults rather than infants or children. See the note beneath the noun for more details on the typical age range. There are attestations in Imperial Latin that show overlap rather than contrast with the age category denoted by the word adulēscēns. A sense 'immature' or 'not adult' is attested in New Latin.
  • The superlative (iuvenissimus) is not attested in Classical Latin: the sense of "youngest" is expressed by other means, such as the phrase natū minimus (literally "least in age").

Declension

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Third-declension one-termination adjective (non-i-stem).

singular plural
masc./fem. masc./fem.
nominative iuvenis iuvenēs
genitive iuvenis iuvenum
dative iuvenī iuvenibus
accusative iuvenem iuvenēs
ablative iuvene iuvenibus
vocative iuvenis iuvenēs
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Descendants

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References

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  1. ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “iuvenis”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 317-8
  2. ^ G. P. Klubertanz (1954) “The Teaching of Thomistic Metaphysics”, in Gregorianum, volume 35, number 2, pages 7-9
  3. ^ M. Winterbottom (2015 December 22) “Declamationes pseudo-Quintilianeae”, in Oxford Classical Dictionary‎[1], Oxford University Press
  4. ^ Priscian (c. AD 500) Heinrich Keil, editor, Grammatici Latini Ex recensione Henrici Keilii / Vol. 2 Prisciani Institutionum Grammaticarum Libri I-XII ex recensione Martini Hertzii, published 1855, page 353: “excipiuntur 'iuvenis a iuvene iuvenum', 'canis a cane canum', 'panis a pane panum'; carent enim i paenultima semper. ― Excepted are 'iuvenis a iuvene iuvenum', 'canis a cane canum', 'panis a pane panum'; for they always lack penultimate i.”
  5. ^ Pseudo-Probus/Probus minor (c. 4th century) Heinrich Keil, editor, Grammatici Latini / 4 Probi Donati Servii qui feruntur de Arte Grammatica Libri ex recensione H. Keilii‎[2], volume 4, published 1864, page 68: “nunc etiam hoc monemus, quod hoc nomen, id est iuvenis, in genere neutro propter metri vel structurae sonum numerum pluralem facere prohibeatur. ― Now we also advise that this noun, that is 'iuvenis', should not be made plural in the neuter gender for reasons of the sound of the meter or structure.”
  6. ^ AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 51: “giovani” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it

Further reading

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