Disputatio:Miles mercennarius
Latest comment: abhinc 5 annos by Lesgles in topic Attestations explained
Attestations explained
recensereBoth Cassell's and Traupman list mercennarius (with mercenarius as an alternative spelling) in their Latin-to-English sections, but only mercenarius in their English-to-Latin sections. L&S prefer mercenarius, but add "in old MSS. written mercennarius." IacobusAmor (disputatio) 17:22, 20 Octobris 2019 (UTC)
- We often see Cassell's and Traupman cited as independent sources, supporting one another. This scrap of evidence is a hint that one copied from the other. But, after all, the makers of dictionaries often do. Andrew Dalby (disputatio) 18:48, 20 Octobris 2019 (UTC)
- Possibly, though we can't be sure. Additional datapoints: Ainsworth's dictionary has only the one-en form, and Merriam-Webster's etymologists derive English mercenary from Latin mercenarius, not mercennarius. Also, The White Latin Dictionary (Chicago: Follett Publishing Company, 1938) goes the other way, listing mercenarius as the preferred form and parenthesizing mercennarius as an alternative, and in its English-to-Latin section lists only mercenarius, attributed to Livy. IacobusAmor (disputatio) 19:26, 20 Octobris 2019 (UTC)
- According to The White Latin Dictionary, the origin of the word is merced- + -arius, and wouldn't that concede the better claim to the one-en form? Or is that a false etymology? IacobusAmor (disputatio) 19:26, 20 Octobris 2019 (UTC)
- I had never heard of the White Latin Dictionary, I must admit. I don't have an etymological dictionary of Latin but I think the brief etymologies in the Oxford Latin Dictionary are respectable. Its etymology here supports your source but not your inference!
- < *mercedinarius = MERCES (or *mercedo, cf. mercedonius) + -ARIUS
- Its preferred spelling for the word is MERCENNARIUS. I think one could see how the two earlier consonants, d and n, might be represented by -nn-. Andrew Dalby (disputatio) 19:57, 20 Octobris 2019 (UTC)
- White's mercedarius doesn't have your -in- infix, so it doesn't have a dn available to become nn, and all we've got is eda to become ena. IacobusAmor (disputatio) 02:34, 21 Octobris 2019 (UTC)
- The OLD also has mercēdārius, but with a different definition, irrelevant here: "(apparently) A person who provides a person with an income." As for mercennarius, double n is also more common on PHI Latin Texts: mercennari- (98 results) vs. mercenari- (3). Lesgles (disputatio) 03:27, 21 Octobris 2019 (UTC)
- White's mercedarius doesn't have your -in- infix, so it doesn't have a dn available to become nn, and all we've got is eda to become ena. IacobusAmor (disputatio) 02:34, 21 Octobris 2019 (UTC)
- I had never heard of the White Latin Dictionary, I must admit. I don't have an etymological dictionary of Latin but I think the brief etymologies in the Oxford Latin Dictionary are respectable. Its etymology here supports your source but not your inference!
- According to The White Latin Dictionary, the origin of the word is merced- + -arius, and wouldn't that concede the better claim to the one-en form? Or is that a false etymology? IacobusAmor (disputatio) 19:26, 20 Octobris 2019 (UTC)
- Possibly, though we can't be sure. Additional datapoints: Ainsworth's dictionary has only the one-en form, and Merriam-Webster's etymologists derive English mercenary from Latin mercenarius, not mercennarius. Also, The White Latin Dictionary (Chicago: Follett Publishing Company, 1938) goes the other way, listing mercenarius as the preferred form and parenthesizing mercennarius as an alternative, and in its English-to-Latin section lists only mercenarius, attributed to Livy. IacobusAmor (disputatio) 19:26, 20 Octobris 2019 (UTC)