Aquilius

[Pacifica]

The OLD gives the first i of this family name as long. I thought the name was derived from aquila, in which case I'd expect the i to be short. Does anyone know anything about this? Is there some evidence for it being long? I couldn't find any instance of the name in poetry.

 

[Laurentius]

There is an Aquillius variant, which would probably indicate a long vowel in the form you mentioned.

 

[Notascooby]

There is an Aquillius variant, which would probably indicate a long vowel in the form you mentioned.

Is that then an example of compensatory vowel lengthening?

 

[Laurentius]

Is that then an example of compensatory vowel lengthening?

On coins and inscriptions it seems, like this:

Funnily enough, it seems among the few cognomina used by this gens there are corvus and gallus lol.

 

[Laurentius]

Ah sorry, you meant it about grammar. Idk, but if it was from aquila there wouldn't have been anything to compensate in the first place.

 

[Godmy]

It doesn't seem to be derived from aquila, the alternative is aquillius with two "l", hence the compensatory lengthening.

See an entry from TLL about the word:

Spoiler

click to zoom

Or here on the PDF page 190 http://publikationen.badw.de/de/000914810/pdf/CC BY-NC-ND/ThLL vol. 02 col. 0001–0706 (an–Artigi)#page=190&zoom=auto,-15,721

 

[Pacifica]

"Aquilius praenomen ab aquilo colore, id est nigro, dictum" ---> if that's true I would also expect a short i, since aquilus has a short i.

If Aquilius does have a long i, it seems that one of two things can be true:

1) The name comes neither from aquila nor from aquilus;
2) It's related but underwent a change in vowel length for some reason. If it's compensation for a lost l, how did a second l get there in the first place? I thought Aquilius was the basic form and Aquillius some sort of corruption, but maybe it's the other way round.

 

[Godmy]

The first seems to me likely.

Or if it would somewhat remotely related to Aquīnius or Aquīnum ... likely a vague etymology.

"Aquilius praenomen ab aquilo colore, id est nigro, dictum" ---> if that's true I would also expect a short i, since aquilus has a short i.

... & remember, it was merely an ancient quote, they made up funny etymologies

 

[Laurentius]

If I may propose an hypothesis too, perhaps it comes from the name Acilius or is at least related to its root, seeing as it seems more recent. If I remember our discussions about Vox Latina it should sound pretty similar.

 

[Pacifica]

OK, I guess I'll trust the OLD and TLL and make that i long. In the worst case I'll be erring along with some reputable authorities, haha. Thanks for the help, guys.

 

[Godmy]

Or you can use that double "L" variant ; -)

 

[Pacifica]

Not in the present circumstances. I asked the question because I'm having to macronize the words in a Cicero quote containing that name (in its one-l form).

 

[Clemens]

Other sources seem to indicate that the i is long even when the l is doubled.

 

[Clemens]

Other sources seem to indicate that the i is long even when the l is doubled.

This is based on one or more inscriptions in which Aquillius is written with a long I and two L's.