aequus

aequus

Latin

Alternative forms

• aiquos, aequos (Republican spelling)
• aecus (phonetic spelling)

Etymology

From earlier aiquos (SCdB), for Proto-Italic *aikʷos or *aikwos, of unknown origin.[1][2] Cf. however the Italic tribe Aequī, Aequīcolī (+ colere), and the placenames Aequum Tūticum (Samnium Hirpinum), Aequum Faliscum and Aequī Faliscī (Etruria), Superaequum (Samnium Paelignum), in some of which the noun aequum (“plain”), in others perhaps the adjective "razed" can be seen.[3][4] Probably not related to Sanskrit ऐक्य (aikya, “concord, identity, sameness”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈae̯.kʷus/, [ˈäe̯kʊs̠]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈe.kwus/, [ˈɛːkwus]

Adjective

aequus (feminine aequa, neuter aequum, comparative aequior, superlative aequissimus, adverb aequē or aequiter); first/second-declension adjective

1. equal

   Synonyms: aequālis, adaequātus, pār, compār

   Antonyms: dispār, inaequālis, impār, inīquus

   • 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 3.878:

     tempora nocturnīs aequa diurna ferēs

     you will receive daytimes with equal nights
     (The March equinox, also known as the vernal or spring equinox.)

2. level, even, flat, horizontal

   Synonym: plānus

   Antonyms: impār, inīquus

3. calm
4. fair, impartial
5. just

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	aequus	aequa	aequum		aequī	aequae	aequa
Genitive	aequī	aequae	aequī		aequōrum	aequārum	aequōrum
Dative	aequō		aequō		aequīs
Accusative	aequum	aequam	aequum		aequōs	aequās	aequa
Ablative	aequō	aequā	aequō		aequīs
Vocative	aeque	aequa	aequum		aequī	aequae	aequa

Derived terms

• aequābilis
• aequābilitās
• aequābiliter
• aequaevus
• aequālis
• aequālitās
• aequāliter
• aequanimitās
• aequanimiter
• aequanimus
• aequātiō
• aequātus
• aequē
• aequicrūrius
• aequidicī
• aequidistāns
• aequiformis
• aequilanx
• aequilaterus
• aequilībris
• aequilībrium
• aequimanus
• aequinoctium
• aequipar
• aequiparō/ aequiperō
• aequipedus
• aequipēs
• aequipollēns
• aequitās
• aequiter
• aequivocus
• aequō
• aequor
• aequoreus
• aequum
• inīquus

 

Descendants

• → English: equ-
• → Italian: equo
• → Portuguese: équo

References

1. “equo” in: Alberto Nocentini, Alessandro Parenti, “l'Etimologico — Vocabolario della lingua italiana”, Le Monnier, 2010, →ISBN
2. De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “aequus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN
3. Bakkum G. C. L. M. (2009) The Latin Dialect of the Ager Faliscus: 150 Years of Scholarship‎, Amsterdam University Press, →ISBN
4. The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information, volume 1-2, (please provide a date or year), pages 258-59

Further reading

• “aequus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “aequus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• aequus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • (ambiguous) friend and foe: aequi iniqui
    
  • (ambiguous) to endure a thing with (the greatest) sang-froid: aequo (aequissimo) animo ferre aliquid
    
  • (ambiguous) justly and equitably: ex aequo et bono (Caecin. 23. 65)
    
  • (ambiguous) a sound judicial system: aequa iuris descriptio (Off. 2. 4. 15)
    
  • (ambiguous) to live with some one on an equal footing: aequo iure vivere cum aliquo
    
  • (ambiguous) in a favourable position: idoneo, aequo, suo (opp. iniquo) loco