paulus

See also: Paulus

Latin

Alternative forms
  • paullus

Etymology

From earlier paullus, likely from Proto-Italic *paukslos, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w- (“few, small”) + *-ko- + *-slom, the first two elements also giving Latin paucus (“few”).[1]

Details
Cf. the proportions paullus :: paucus like axis :: āla like veicus :: veilla, and with diminutives paullus :: pauxillus like āla :: āxilla like aulla :: auxilla. veilla and aulla showcase the same development of /dipthong + ks/ as the present word. māla, vēlum, pālus are further examples of words formed with the same suffixes.

Against this, De Vaan (2008) notes that "the suffix *-slo- is otherwise only used for instrument nouns, and only after consonant stems; both are reasons to reject a preform *pauk-slo- derived from *pau-ko-", and quotes Thurneysen (1907: 177) as deriving it from Proto-Italic *paurelos, from Proto-Indo-European *péh₂uros, also from *peh₂w-.

However, the regular development of the cluster /wr/ is metathesis, as in parvus, and just this is attested in parvulus. It's difficult to envision a split outcome of metathesis for the base form and its morphologically transparent diminutive (cf. the systematic parallels above). The "instrument nouns" objection can be countered with the striking parallel in pullus (“animal young”) :: pusillus (“tiny”) and by the cross-linguistic tendency to refer to the young with neuter or otherwise objectifying nouns (cf. German -chen); the precise meaning of the suffix also need not have been an instrument.

Further related to Latin pauper, puer, Ancient Greek παῦρος (paûros), English few.

Pronunciation

Adjective

paulus (feminine paula, neuter paulum, adverb paulō); first/second-declension adjective

  1. little, small

Usage notes

Used especially pertaining to size.

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number Singular Plural
Case / Gender Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative paulus paula paulum paulī paulae paula
Genitive paulī paulae paulī paulōrum paulārum paulōrum
Dative paulō paulō paulīs
Accusative paulum paulam paulum paulōs paulās paula
Ablative paulō paulā paulō paulīs
Vocative paule paula paulum paulī paulae paula

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

References
  • De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “paucus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 450
  1. Weiss, Michael L. (2009) Outline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin‎, Ann Arbor: Beech Stave Press, →ISBN, page 177

Further reading
  • “paulus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “paulus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • paulus 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)
  • paulus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co.
    • (ambiguous) the delivery is rather halting, poor: actio paulum claudicat
  • “paulus”, in Harry Thurston Peck, editor (1898), Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • “paulus”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray
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