nuntius
English
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin nūntius (“messenger”).
Noun
nuntius (plural nuntii)
- (chiefly theater) A messenger.
- Synonym: nuncius
- (Roman Catholicism) A nuncio.
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin nuntius.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈnʏn.tsi.ʏs/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: nun‧ti‧us
Noun
nuntius m (plural nuntii or nuntiussen)
- (Roman Catholicism) A nuncio (diplomatic representative of the Holy See).
Usage notes
The most common plural is nuntii, which is favoured by Catholic sources. The plural nuntiussen is mostly used by the secular press and to a lesser degree by the Protestant press.
Derived terms
- nuntiatuur
Latin
Alternative forms
- nontius, nountius, nūncius
Etymology
Uncertain; competing hypotheses include:
- Contracted from noventius, from an obsolete noveō, from novus.
- From Proto-Indo-European *new- (“to nod”), same source as Latin *nuō, Ancient Greek νεύω (neúō, “to beckon, nod”) and Old Irish noid (“make known”)[1], though this is rejected by De Vaan.[2]
- From Etruscan [script needed] (nunth, “to bring”).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈnuːn.ti.us/, [ˈnuːn̪t̪iʊs̠]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈnun.t͡si.us/, [ˈnunt̪͡s̪ius]
Noun
nūntius m (genitive nūntiī or nūntī, feminine nūntia); second declension
- a messenger, reporter, courier
- Synonyms: internūntia, praecō
- an envoy, message, report
- a command, order, injunction
- Synonyms: dēcrētum, praeceptum, iussus, ēdictum, ēdictiō, scītum, dēcrētiō, mandātum, imperium
- (in the plural) news, tidings, information
- Synonyms: fāma, indicium
Declension
Second-declension noun.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | nūntius | nūntiī |
| Genitive | nūntiī nūntī1 | nūntiōrum |
| Dative | nūntiō | nūntiīs |
| Accusative | nūntium | nūntiōs |
| Ablative | nūntiō | nūntiīs |
| Vocative | nūntie | nūntiī |
1Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).
Related terms
- nūntiō
Descendants
- ⇒ Vulgar Latin: *nuntiolus (diminutive)
- Venetian: nonzolo (“sacristan”)
- Borrowings:
- → Catalan: nunci
- → English: nuncio
- → Galician: nuncio
- → Italian: nunzio
- → French: nonce
- → Portuguese: núncio
- → Romanian: nunțiu
- → Russian: нунций (nuncij)
- → Serbo-Croatian: nùncīj, ну̀нцӣј
- Sicilian: nunziu, Nunziu
- → Spanish: nuncio
References
- “nuntius”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “nuntius”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- nuntius 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)
- nuntius in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
- Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
- to separate, be divorced (used of man or woman): nuntium remittere alicui (De Or. 1. 40)
- to separate, be divorced (used of man or woman): nuntium remittere alicui (De Or. 1. 40)
- Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002), “nŭntius”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volume 7: N–Pas, page 242
- Tucker, T.G., Etymological Dictionary of Latin, Ares Publishers
- De Vaan, Michiel (2008) Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN
Norwegian Bokmål
Etymology
From Latin nuntius (“envoy”).
Noun
nuntius m (definite singular nuntien or nuntiusen, indefinite plural nuntier, definite plural nuntiene)
- (Roman Catholicism) a nuncio
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology
From Latin nuntius (“envoy”).
Noun
nuntius m (definite singular nuntiusen, indefinite plural nuntiusar, definite plural nuntiusane)
- (Roman Catholicism) a nuncio