quispiam

Latin

Etymology

Univerbation of quis +‎ -pe +‎ iam.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈkʷis.pi.am/, [ˈkʷɪs̠piä̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈkwis.pi.am/, [ˈkwispiäm]

Pronoun

quispiam (feminine quaepiam, neuter quidpiam or quippiam); relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion

1. anybody, anything
2. somebody, something

Declension

Relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	quispiam	quaepiam	quidpiam quippiam		quīpiam1	quaepiam
genitive	cuiuspiam1				quōrumpiam	quārumpiam	quōrumpiam
dative	cuipiam1				quibuspiam quīspiam1
accusative	quempiam	quampiam	quidpiam quippiam		quōspiam	quāspiam	quaepiam
ablative	quōpiam quīpiam	quāpiam quīpiam	quōpiam quīpiam		quibuspiam quīspiam1

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).

• The plural is very rare.
• The feminine nominative singular quaepiam may be unattested in Classical Latin as a pronoun (it is found as an adjective; see below).

Adjective

quispiam (feminine quaepiam, neuter quodpiam); relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion

1. any
2. some

Declension

Relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	quispiam	quaepiam	quodpiam		quīpiam1	quaepiam
genitive	cuiuspiam1				quōrumpiam	quārumpiam	quōrumpiam
dative	cuipiam1				quibuspiam quīspiam1
accusative	quempiam	quampiam	quodpiam		quōspiam	quāspiam	quaepiam
ablative	quōpiam	quāpiam	quōpiam		quibuspiam quīspiam1

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).

• The plural is very rare.

Quotations

• Marcus Tullius Cicero, in a letter at Varro. In: M. T. Ciceronis Epistolae ad Atticum, ad Quintum Fratrem, ad M. Brutum, et quae vulgo ad Familiares dicuntur, temporis ordine dispositae. Tomus IX. – M. Tullius Cicero's sämmtliche Briefe, übersetzt und erläutert von C. M. Wieland. Neunter Band, Wien und Triest, 1814, p. 232:

  Quamquam tum quidem vel aliae quaepiam rationes, honestas nobiset curas, et actiones darent: nunc autem quid est, sine his cur vivere velimus?

• Apulejus Madaurensis, Florida. In: Apuleii opera omnia ex editione oudendorpiana, vol. II., London, 1825, p. 922:

  Satis, inquit, mihi fuerit mercedis, Thales sapiens,⁴ si id, quod a me didicisti, cum proferre ad quospiam coeperis, tibi non asciveris,⁵ sed ejus inventi me potius, quam alium, repertorem praedicaveris.⁶

  4 Post inquit voces Th. sapiens ponit Floridus. Id.—5 Abest non a Coll. Voss. Id.—6 Praedicaveris. Pith. praedicaris. Ed. Vic. praedicatis. Id.

  • The wise Thales replied, It will be a sufficient reward to me, if you do not publish what I have taught you as a discovery of your own, but fairly declare that I am the inventor. ^[1]
  • 'It is enough recompense,' replied Thales the wise, 'if you will refrain from claiming as your own the theory I have taught you, whenever you begin to impart it to others, and will proclaim me and no other as the discoverer of this new law.' ^[2]

See also

type	demonstrative			anaphoric	identity	interrogative/ relative	indefinite					negative	other
	proximal	medial	distal				relative	indefinite	free choice	universal	negative polarity
basic	hic	iste, istic	ille, illic	is	ipse, īdem	quis/quī	quisquis, quīcumque	quis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quispiam	quīvis, quīlibet	quisque	quisquam, ūllus, °aliquisquam	nēmō, nihil, nūllus	alius
dual						uter	utercumque	alteruter	utervīs, uterlibet	uterque		neuter	alter
place	hīc	istīc	illīc	ibī̆	ibī̆dem	ubī̆	ubiubi, ubī̆cumque	alicubī, uspiam	ubivīs, ubilibet	ubīque	usquam	nusquam, nūllibī	alibī, aliās
source	hinc	istinc	illinc	inde	indidem	unde	undecumque, undeunde	alicunde	°undelibet	undique			aliunde
destination	hūc, °hōrsum	istūc, °istōrsum	illūc, °illōrsum	eō	eōdem	quō, quōrsum	quōquō, quōcumque	aliquō, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsum	quōvīs, quōlibet		quōquam	nusquam, nūllōrsum	aliō, aliōrsum
method, means, path, place	hāc	istāc	illāc	eā	eādem	quā	quāquā, quācumque	aliquā	quāvīs, quālibet	quāque		nēquāquam, haudquāquam	aliā
manner	hōc modō	istō modō	illō modō	ita, sīc, eō modō	item, itidem	ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum	utut, utcumque, quōmodocumque	quī, quōdam modō, aliquō modō	quōmodolibet	utīque	ūllō modō	nūllō modō	aliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō
time	num, nunc		ōlim	tum, tunc	simul	quandō, ‡cum	cumque, quandōcumque, quandōque	quondam, aliquandō	quandōlibet	quandōque	umquam	numquam	aliās
quantity				tam	†tamen, †tandem	quam	†quamquam	aliquam	quamvīs, quamlibet
size				tantus	tantusdem	quantus	quantuscumque	aliquantus	quantusvīs, quantuslibet
quality				tālis		quālis	quālis, quāliscumque	aliquālis	quālislibet
number				tot	totidem	quot	quotquot, quotcumque	aliquot	quotlibet
order				totus		quotus	quotuscumque	aliquotus	quotuslibet
repetition				totiēns		quotiēns	quotiēnscumque	aliquotiēns	quotiēnslibet
multiplication				totuplex		quotuplex
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated ° Rare ‡only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

References

1. The Dictionary Historical and Critical of Mr. Peter Bayle, 2nd edition, vol. V, S—Z, London, 1738, s.v. Tahles, p. 324. The Latin text is quoted as: "Satis, inquit, mihi fuerit mercedis, Thales sapiens, si id quod à me didicisti, cum proferre ad quospiam coeperis, tibi non adsciveris; sed ejus inventi me potius quam alium repertorem praedicaveris."
2. H. E. Butler, The Apologia and Florida of Apuleius of Madaura, Oxford, 1909 (Project Gutenberg)

Further reading

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