I’m not learning Latin but I recently bought a Latin - English dictionary for my dictionary collection.
It’s a Collins Gem from 1961.
I stumbled across the following definition
semilixa - not much better than a camp-follower.
This seemed like a strange definition in an otherwise serious dictionary.
I then looked up
lixa - sutler, camp-follower
A search on the web revealed
semilixa - half a sutler
(i’m sure it’s not this!)
Anyway, the definition has intrigued me.
Is it a word that appeared once in a play, hence it’s inclusion or was it a common Roman insult? or was the editor being silly?
Any thoughts appreciated.
Curious!
M-W says that a sutler is (I had to look it up)-
a civilian provisioner to an army post often with a shop on the post
I guess those guys tended to rip soldiers off for food in winter or something… people who are like that would be well-hated.
My Lewis &Short only cites 2 uses of it, in Livy
28:28’ sed illi primum non Atrium Umbram semilixam , nominis etiam abominandi ducem,’
30:28’ ..cui Statorius semilixa docere exercitus solitus sit..’
There are listed some other ‘semi’ words that can be possibly derogatory
‘semigravis’ half-drunken
‘semi-homo’ half savage
‘semi-masculus’ effeminate
‘semi-paganus’ half rustic
How is that a half-man is effeminate instead of a half-woman? How does one go about choosing? Would half-femenine be masculine?
I just checked and found that both uses in Livy are indeed derogatory . The first passage is in a speech referring to the leader of a mutiny , he is not only not an officer but not even a proper quarter-master ,his very name is one of ill-omen.
The second passage is also rhetorical ,used in a speech predicting the danger of Hannibal , a much more terrible enemy to face than the army led by Statorius a ‘sort of army cook’
semi-puella ‘half-girl half-bird ‘i.e. siren
semi-vir ‘unmanly womanish effeminate’
Juvenal in Sat 6 uses semi-vir to describe a eunuch priest of Cybele.
The nearest term I can find to describe a ‘manly’ woman is’ Virago’ used of ‘manlike vigorous woman or heroic maiden’ it seems complemntary and is used of Minerva ,Diana and Amazon warriors .
Juvenal does not use this word in his satrie on the female Gladiator he calls her 'mulier galeata ’
= helmetted woman .
Thanks for your responses.
I think with PhilipF’s statement ‘a sort of army cook’ the ‘a sort of’ or perhaps ‘some kind of’ is better than ‘not much better than’ in the context used.
I wonder if Livy in his speeches would be using the common language of the people (or the upper classes) or if he could have been a bit of a Shakespeare, making up new words as he goes?
It’s interesting the addition of ‘semi’ turning a word into an insult.
Surely to be a paganus would be worse than being a semi-paganus!
(I’m reminded of the term quasi-evil in an Austin Powers movie)
Cheers
Mark31
I am not sure as regards Livy’s use of invented words ,the specialist in ‘hemi/semi’ insults seems to be Lucian . He is credited with using :
ἡμιανθρωπος
ἡμίανδρος
ἡμίελλην
ἡμίστρατιωτης
ἡμίφαυλος
ἡμίσοφος etc.
i.e.
half-man (eunuch)
ditto
half Greek
half-soldier
half-knavish
half-wise
Maybe his dad owned a Dodge ("Son, there’s only one word you need to know, ἡμι ")
Apologies to those who did shoot their t.v.