Centesimus Vicesimus Quartus: January 26, 2009: Rivus
Theme for this month: Words from prose
rivus, rivi m.
Definition: stream, brook
e rivo flumina magna facere: to make a mountain of a molehole
Sententia: In verde, rivus, quondam placidus, nunc turbidus liquefacto nive culmine montis tumet.
In the spring, the stream, formerly calm, now troubled/wild swells because of the snow having been melted on the summit of the mountain.
This word isn't primarily used in prose, though it occurs more often in prose than in poetry--89 times vs 43 times. The word rival is derived from it via rivalis, because neighbors living close to each other on the same stream were assumed to be competitive. Surprisingly, the word river does not derive from rivus but from ripa, riverbank, via riparius.
NB: Bold and underline == macron