Arma virumque cano
When visiting The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the "Armi ed armature"
section, some say, is a _must_ (implicature: to go and see) -- it includes some
nice Roman pieces, too!
In a message dated 3/3/2016 1:36:40 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
profdritchie@xxxxxxxxx writes:
Yes it was a set-up line. But I would like to know what the Germanic
peoples called their arms before they were arms.
In my previous, I compared 'arm' (arm-1 and arm-2) to Grice's 'vice' in
(British spelling)
i. He was caught in the grip of a vice.
ii. He was caught in the grip of a vice.
If 'vice' is understood as a carpenter's tool (as, say, in (ii)), the
truth-conditions are different from those of (i) where, say, 'vice' is the
opposite of 'virtue'.
So, while 'arm' may be Latinate (via French) to mean 'weapon', 'arm' was
also native Old English for upper limb. It may well be that both 'arms'
(arm-1 and arm-2) are cognate, but the same may apply to 'vice' and 'vice'
(which Americans, when it means 'carpenter's tool' prefer to spell as 'vyse').
As far as the borrowing via French of 'arm' to mean 'weapon', it may do to
explore the Latin or Roman source of it all.
On the one hand there was:
"armus" = 'shoulder' may be good for bad Griceian, it may not be good
enough for a good Griceian.
armus, i, m., = ἁρμός [ἄρω; v. arma I inct.], pr.,
is rather best defined as
"a joining together".
Specifically, the shoulder where it is fitted to the shoulder-blade, the
fore quarter (opp. "suffrago"), and, with few exceptions, of the shoulder
of
a non-human animal, while "umerus" designates that of a man.
I Lit.: solus homo bipes: uni juguli, umeri; ceteris armi, Plinio 11, 43,
98, § 243: digiti (Hippomenae in leonem mutati) curvantur in ungues: Ex
umeris armi fiunt, Ovidio Met. 10, 700.—So, elephantis, Plinio 11, 40,
95, §
233: leonis, id. 11, 39, 94, § 229: pantherae, id. 8, 17, 23, § 62 et
saep.:
leporis, Orazio S. 2, 4, 44; 2, 8, 89: equi, id. ib. 1, 6, 106: arietis,
Vulg. Num. 6, 19; ib. Exod. 29, 27.
—Of men: latos huic hasta per armos Acta, Verg. A. 11, 644; Paul. ex Fest.
s. v. armita, p. 4 Müll.—And of the arms of men, Luc. 9, 831.—*
II In a more extended usage, the whole side of an animal: spumantis equi
fodere calcaribus armos, Virgilio A. 6, 881; cf. Orazio S. 1, 6, 106.
But on the OTHER hand there was:
arma, ōrum, n. (I gen. plur. armūm, Pac. ap. Cic. Or. 46, 155; Att. ap.
Non. p. 495, 23, considered by Cicerone in the connection armūm judicium
as
less correct than armorum) [cf. ΑΡΩ, ἀραρίσκω = to fit; ἄρθρον =
joint; ἁρμός = armus = joint, shoulder; ἀρτάω = artio, arto = to fit,
to fit in closely;
ἄρτιος = fit, exact; artus = close, narrow; ars (artis) = the craft of
fitting things; artifex, artificium; Goth. arms = O. H. Germ. aram =
Engl.
arm; Sanscr. ar = to hit upon, attain; aram = fit, fast; īrmas = arm.
Curt.].
I Lit. What is fitted to the body for its protection, defensive armour, as
the shield, coat of mail, helmet, etc.: tot milia armorum, detracta
corporibus hostium, Livio 45, 39: induere arma, id. 30, 31: arma his
imperata,
galea, clipeum, ocreae, lorica, omnia ex aere, id. 1, 43: pictis et auro
caelatis refulgens armis, id. 7, 10. —
2 Specifically, a shield: at Lausum socii exanimem super arma
ferebant,
on a shield, Virgilio A. 10, 841: caelestia arma, quae ancilia
appellantur, Liv. 1, 20 (v. ancile); id. 8, 30; 1, 37; cf. Verg. A. 1,
119 Heyne; Tac.
G. 11 Rup.; Plinio Ep. 5, 6, 43: Aeneas se collegit in arma, gathered
himself under his shield, Verg. A. 12, 491.—Hence, in a more extended
usage,
implements of war, arms, both of defence and offence (but of the latter
only
those which are used in close contest, such as the sword, axe, club; in
distinction from tela, which are used in contest at a distance; hence,
arma
and tela are often contrasted;
v. infra): silent leges inter arma, Cic. Mil. 4, 10; id. Att. 7, 3, 5:
arma civilia, civil war, id. Fam. 2, 16, and Tac. A. 1, 9: civilia arma,
id.
Agr. 16; id. G. 37 (otherwise, bella civilia, Cic. Off. 1, 25, 86, and
Tac.
Agr. 13): ab externis armis otium erat, Liv. 3, 14; 9, 1; 3, 69 Drak.; 9,
32; 42, 2; Tac. H. 2, 1 al.: a Rubro Mari arma conatus sit inferre
Italiae,
Nep. Hann. 2, 1 (for which more freq. bellum inferre alicui, v. infero):
ad
horrida promptior arma, Ov. M. 1, 126: qui fera nuntiet arma, id. ib. 5,
4; 14, 479: compositis venerantur armis, Hor. C. 4, 14, 52. So the
beginning
of the Æneid: Arma virumque cano; cf. Hor. Ep. 1, 19, 7: melius visum
Gallos novam gentem pace potius cognosci quam armis, Liv. 5, 35 fin.;
cf.:
cedant arma togae, Cic. Off. 1, 22, 76.—Also for battle, contest: in arma
feror, Verg. A. 2, 337; so id. ib. 2, 655.—
And also b (Abstract for concrete) the warriors themselves, soldiers,
troops: nulla usquam apparuerunt arma, Liv. 41, 12: nostro supplicio
liberemus
Romana arma, i. e. Romanum exercitum, id. 9, 9; 21, 26: Hispanias armis
non
ita redundare, Tac. H. 2, 32: expertem frustra belli et neutra arma
secutum, neither party, Ov. M. 5, 91: auxiliaria arma, auxiliaries,
auxiliary
troops = auxiliares (v. auxiliaris, I.), id. ib. 6, 424; cf. id. ib. 14,
528.—
Also, via implicature, III Transf., poet. (like ὅπλον and ἔντεα in
Gr.), implements, instruments, tools, utensils, in gen. Of implements for
grinding and baking: Cerealia arma, the arms of Ceres, Verg. A. 1, 177
(cf.
Hom. Od. 7, 232: ἔντεα δαιτός). —Of implements of agriculture, Ov.
M.
11, 35: dicendum est, quae sint duris agrestibus arma, Quīs sine nec
potuere
seri nec surgere messes, Verg. G. 1, 160.—Of the equipments, tackle of a
ship (mast, sails, rudder, etc.): colligere arma jubet validisque
incumbere
remis, Verg. A. 5, 15; 6, 353.—Hence used by Ovid for wings: haec umeris
arma parata suis, A. A. 2, 50 (cf. in the foll. verse: his patria est
adeunda
carinis).—And so of other instruments, Mart. 14, 36.
Grice refers to 'vice' in "Meaning revisited" when applying his "Do not
multiply senses beyond necessity". When discussing "Those black clouds mean
rain" and ""Dog" means dog", he is playing with the idea, which he knows it's
wrong, but he was a good teacher, that these two uses of 'mean' may be
like the two uses of 'vice': two words with two senses (one each) rather than
one word with two senses!
Cognates for Old English 'earm' (in most Germanic languages, and ultimately
Indo-European cogante with Latin 'armus' (first and foremost 'joint', but,
more narrowly, via implicature, 'shoulder' -- arma' (neutre plural,
singular 'armuM' which Cicerone didn't like the sound of) is cognate or
comparable to 'armuS') were given in my previous.
Cheers,
Speranza
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