lubricus

Latin

Etymology

Perhaps from Proto-Italic *slouβr(e/o)kos, from Proto-Indo-European *slubʰ-ró- (“gldiding”), itself perhaps from a root *slewbʰ- (“to slide, glide”).^[1] It is perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *sleupaną, though Kroonen prefers to connect the Germanic forms with a root *slewp-.^[2] If the connection between the Latin and Germanic forms is accepted, then the root may have only belonged to a late western Indo-European dialect.^[3]

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈɫuː.brɪ.kʊs]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈluː.bri.kus]

Adjective

lūbricus (feminine lūbrica, neuter lūbricum); first/second-declension adjective

slippery, slimy
- c. 206 BCE, Plautus, Miles Gloriosus 852:
  Nōn hercle tam istōc validē cassābant cadī;
  sed in cellā erat paulum nimis loculī lūbricī
  2011 translation by Wolfgang de Melo
  No, that’s not why the jars tottered so much; rather, in the cellar there was a small and very slippery spot
fleeting
- 8 CE, Ovid, Fasti 5.475–476:
  mandantem amplectī cupiunt et bracchia tendunt:
  lūbrica prēnsantēs effugit umbra manūs
  [As he is] entrusting [his request to them], they long to embrace [him] and extend their arms: the fleeting shade eludes their grasping hands.
  (The ghost of Remus appears to his foster-parents Faustulus and Acca Larentia; see also Romulus and Remus.)
inconstant
deceitful
- 4th century CE, Jerome of Stridon (St. Jerome), Vulgate, 26:28
  Lingua fallāx nōn amat vēritātem et os lūbricum operātur ruīnās.
  A deceitful tongue loveth not truth: and a slippery mouth worketh ruin.
  (trans.: Douay-Rheims Bible)
hazardous, unsteady
tricky

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

	masculine	feminine	neuter	masculine	feminine	neuter
	singular			plural
nominative	lūbricus	lūbrica	lūbricum	lūbricī	lūbricae	lūbrica
genitive	lūbricī	lūbricae	lūbricī	lūbricōrum	lūbricārum	lūbricōrum
dative	lūbricō	lūbricae	lūbricō	lūbricīs
accusative	lūbricum	lūbricam	lūbricum	lūbricōs	lūbricās	lūbrica
ablative	lūbricō	lūbricā	lūbricō	lūbricīs
vocative	lūbrice	lūbrica	lūbricum	lūbricī	lūbricae	lūbrica

Derived terms

Descendants

Portuguese: lôbrego
Spanish: lóbrego
→ Catalan: lúbric
→ English: lubric
→ French: lubrique
→ Galician: lúbrico
→ Italian: lubrico
→ Occitan: lubric
→ Portuguese: lúbrico
→ Spanish: lúbrico

References

^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “lūbricus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 349
^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), “*sleupan- ~ *slūpan-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎^[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 454
^ Mallory, J. P., Adams, D. Q., editors (1997), “?*sleubh-”, in Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, London, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, page 527

“lubricus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
“lubricus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
"lubricus", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
“lubricus”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
Rix, Helmut, editor (2001), “*sleṷbʰ-”, in Lexikon der indogermanischen Verben [Lexicon of Indo-European Verbs] (in German), 2nd edition, Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, →ISBN, page 567
Pokorny, Julius (1959), “sleub(h)-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 3, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, pages 963-964

[1] De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “lūbricus”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 349

[2] Kroonen, Guus (2013), “*sleupan- ~ *slūpan-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎^[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 454

[3] Mallory, J. P., Adams, D. Q., editors (1997), “?*sleubh-”, in Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, London, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, page 527

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