Re: Vacillare

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Rick McCallister <gabaroo6958@...> wrote:

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> --- On Sun, 12/7/08, Francesco Brighenti <frabrig@...> wrote:
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> > From: Francesco Brighenti <frabrig@...>
> > Subject: [tied] Re: Vacillare
> > To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
> > Date: Sunday, December 7, 2008, 6:46 PM
> > --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen"
> > <tgpedersen@> wrote:
> >
> > > Ernout-Meillet:
> > >
> > > 'uacillo: (uaccillo:, Lucr.3,502 tum quasi uaccillans consurgit
> > > et onnis | paulatim redit in sensus), -a:s, -a:ui:, -a:tum,
> > > -a:re :
> > > vaciller, chanceler (sens propre et dérivé).
> > > Mot favori de Cicéron; non attesté avant lui, rare dans la 1.
> > > impériale. Formes savantes dans les l. romanes, M.L.9112.
> > > Dérivés: uacilla:tio:, -tor (Gloss.).
> > > Mot expressif (cf. le type sorbillo:, etc.), d'origine obscure.
> > > Le -cc-, attesté chez Lucrèce, est un exemple de gémination
> > > expressive.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucretius
says that according to some, Lucretius' work was 'emended' by Cicero.
But would he have added or substituted words?

> > > cf. Germ. wackeln "totter", Eng. waggle.
> > >
> > > The standard approach is to see the Lat. word as inherited, but
> > > given the late attestation, could it be a Germanic loan?
> >
> > Indeed, the origin of the isolated Latin verb vacilla:re is
> > deemed obscure by more than an author. Perhaps its origin is
> > purely phonetic.
> >
> . . .
> Interestingly enough, the most common meaning of vacilar in Spanish
> is "to sway" --hence "to dance, have fun, party, waste time, etc."
> A vacilón is a "party animal, wastrel"

I think late Latin had two sociolects: Army and Christian. The former
would be the medium by which Germanic, Celtic and in-between words
entered Western Romance.


Torsten