lugubris

Latin

Etymology

From the root of lūgeō (“mourn, lament”) via Proto-Italic *lougosris^[1] or *leugosris,^[2] built on a neuter s-stem noun *lougos/*leugos with change of sr→br (compare muliebris, fūnebris). Sen 2015 identifies the ending as the suffix *-lis, making the original formation *leug-os-lis, with subsequent dissimilation of l...l to l...r.^[2] An alternative theory derives it from *lūge-blis, with the same dissimilation.^[1]

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈluː.ɡu.bris/, [ˈɫ̪uːɡʊbrɪs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈlu.ɡu.bris/, [ˈluːɡubris]

Adjective

lūgubris (neuter lūgubre, adverb lūgubrē or lūgubriter); third-declension two-termination adjective

1. of or pertaining to mourning
   • 163 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Heauton Timorumenos 2.3.44–45:

     Texentem tēlam studiōsē ipsam offendimus,
     mediocriter vestītam veste lūgubrī […]

     We found her studiously weaving at the loom,
     modestly dressed in mourning clothes […]

2. that causes mourning, disastrous; pitiable
   • 23 BCE – 13 BCE, Horace, Odes 2.1.33–36:

     Quī gurgēs aut quae flūmina lūgubris
     ignāra bellī? Quod mare Dauniae
     nōn dēcolorāvere caedēs?
     quae caret ōra cruōre nostrō?

     What seas or rivers are unaware
     of the disastrous war? Which sea the Daunian
     slaughters haven't stained?
     Which shore lacks our blood?

3. mournful, doleful, plaintive
4. gloomy, sinister, mean

Declension

Third-declension two-termination adjective.

	singular			plural
	masc./fem.	neuter		masc./fem.	neuter
nominative	lūgubris	lūgubre		lūgubrēs	lūgubria
genitive	lūgubris			lūgubrium
dative	lūgubrī			lūgubribus
accusative	lūgubrem	lūgubre		lūgubrēs lūgubrīs	lūgubria
ablative	lūgubrī			lūgubribus
vocative	lūgubris	lūgubre		lūgubrēs	lūgubria

Derived terms

• lūgubrē
• lūgubria
• lūgubriter

Descendants

• → Catalan: lúgubre
• → English: lugubrious
• → French: lugubre
• Italian: lugubre
• → Portuguese: lúgubre
• → Romanian: lugubru
• → Spanish: lúgubre
• >? Portuguese: lôbrego
• >? Spanish: lóbrego
  • →? Catalan: llòbrec

References

1. De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “lūgeō (> Derivatives: lūgubris)”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 351
2. Ranjan Sen (2015) Syllable and Segment in Latin, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 91

Further reading

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