nitidus

Latin

FWOTD – 31 July 2019

Etymology

From niteō (“to shine”) +‎ -idus. The extended sense of 'pure, clean' (first attested in Marcellus Empiricus, ca. 400 CE) survives in the Gallo- and Italo-Romance descendants of the word.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈni.ti.dus/, [ˈnɪt̪ɪd̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈni.ti.dus/, [ˈniːt̪id̪us]

Adjective

nitidus (feminine nitida, neuter nitidum, comparative nitidior, superlative nitidissimus); first/second-declension adjective

1. shining, polished, glittering
2. handsome, beautiful, good-looking
3. (of persons) healthy-looking, well conditioned
4. (of animals) sleek, plump
   • Horace, Q. Horatii Flacci Satiræ. The Satires of Horace, in Philip Francis, A Poetical Translation of the Works of Horace, With the Original Text, vol. 2, 1749, publ. by A. Millar, page 178, line 214.

     Si quis lecticâ nitidam geſtare amet agnam;

     If any person should take a delight to carry about with him in his sedan a pretty lambkin

5. (of plants) blooming, fertile
6. (of speech or writing) cultivated, refined
7. (Late Latin) pure, clean

Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

Number	Singular				Plural
Case / Gender	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter		Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	nitidus	nitida	nitidum		nitidī	nitidae	nitida
Genitive	nitidī	nitidae	nitidī		nitidōrum	nitidārum	nitidōrum
Dative	nitidō		nitidō		nitidīs
Accusative	nitidum	nitidam	nitidum		nitidōs	nitidās	nitida
Ablative	nitidō	nitidā	nitidō		nitidīs
Vocative	nitide	nitida	nitidum		nitidī	nitidae	nitida

Descendants

• Balkan Romance:
  • Romanian: neted (“smooth, clear”)
• North Italian:
  • Ladin: nëidi
  • Lombard: nédi
  • Romansch: neidi, naidi
• Occitano-Romance:
  • Old Occitan: nede ⇒ nedas
  • Old Catalan: nèdeu (“clean”)
    • Catalan: nèdeu~nèdio~nèdol~nedo (“pasturage”)
• Ibero-Romance:
  • Asturian: nidiu, ñidiu
  • Leonese: nidio (Salamanca)
  • Old Galician-Portuguese: nedio
    • Galician: nidio
    • Portuguese: nédio
  • Old Spanish: nidio
• Vulgar Latin:
  • *nittus (via syncope; see there for further descendants)
• Borrowings:
  • → Catalan: nítid
  • → English: nitid
  • → French: nitide
  • → Italian: nitido
  • → Portuguese: nítido
  • → Sicilian: nìtitu
  • → Spanish: nítido

References

• Buchi, Éva, Schweickard, Wolfgang (2008–) “*/ˈnɪtid-u/”, in Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman, Nancy: Analyse et Traitement Informatique de la Langue Française.
• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “nĭtĭdus”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch (in German), volumes 7: N–Pas, page 147

Further reading

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