Centesimus Octagesimus: October 1, 2009: Costa/Accost
Theme for this month: English derivatives
One of the flaunted characteristics of Latin is that since so many words derive from it, it will help you do better on the SATs. This may or may not be the case, but the etymologies of some English words are really cool as a result! Dictionary.com reports that about 60% of all English words have Greek or Latin roots, and that ~10% have come into English without an intermediate, most often French), and for words starting with the letter 'v,' at least, I, having had to find a couple words NOT borrowed from Latin or French starting with 'v' in the OED as a linguistics assignment, personally would estimate that 90% or more of those words are either from Latin or from Old French and then Latin. I hope you enjoy these English words, as well as their Latin roots!
costa, costae f.
Definition: rib; (usually pl.) the part of the body supported by the ribs, that is, the side, flank, back; a rib of a ship
accost, v.
Definition: to approach, assail; to address
[This English definition and all the rest this month come from the Oxford English Dictionary; the Latin definition as always comes from the Oxford Latin Dictionary]
Sententia: Lucretius De Rerum Natura, 5.1297-99
et prius est armatum in equi conscendere costas
et moderarier* hunc frenis dextraque vigere
quam biiugo curro belli temptare pericla.
and [man was accustomed] having been armed to climb onto the ribs of a horse and to control this one with the reins and to urge on with the right hand, before [he was accustomed] to try the dangers of war in a 2-horsed chariot.
*This is an old present passive infinitive of the deponent verb "moderor," "to control," not entirely surprising seeing as how poets often used archaic forms.
This particular section in De Rerum Natura is discussing the history of human warfare. Just before it, Lucretius describes how iron and other metals were found and used as weapons, and right afterward describes the different chariots, and even elephants and other animals used in war. This selection is found online courtesy of Perseus Project. Also interesting is book 2, in which Lucretius very accurately describes the nature of atoms, such as how they are always in motion.
This word is used in the Aeneid, meaning both "rib of an animal" and "rib of a ship," in Books 1, 2, 7, and 9-12. The word "accost" comes from "ad-" + "costa," and originally meant "to come up to someone in a ship," since the two ships' ribs go to each other. This has developed into the current meaning of "to approach, assail." The etymology of "costa" itself is not listed in the OLD.
NB: Bold and underline == macron