gurdus

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *gʷordos (“stubborn, heavy”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gʷr̥dus, *gʷrd-o- (“slow, heavy, tired”), though de Vaan acknowledges that the root is an o-stem instead of a u-stem. Quintilian called it a Spanish (possibly Iberian) word. Compare Lithuanian gurdùs, Latvian gur̃ds (“tired”), Proto-Slavic *gъ̑rdъ (“proud”), Ancient Greek βραδύς (bradús, “slow”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈɡur.dus/, [ˈɡʊrd̪ʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈɡur.dus/, [ˈɡurd̪us]

Noun

gurdus m (genitive gurdī); second declension (derogatory)

1. dolt, numbskull, blockhead, dullard

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:homo stultus

   • c. 177 CE, Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae 16.7.8:

     Item in Cacomnemone: Hic est (inquit) ille gurdus, quem ego me abhinc menses duos ex Africa venientem excepisse tibi narravi.

     And in (Laberius') The Forgetful Man: This is that dolt (gurdus) who, when two months ago from Africa I came, did meet me here, as I did say.

   • c. 35 CE – 100 CE, Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria 1.5.57:

     Et gurdos, quos pro stolidis accipit vulgus, ex Hispania duxisse originem audivi.

     While I have heard that gurdus, which is colloquially used in the sense of “stupid,” is derived from Spain.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Decimus Laberius to this entry?)

2. oaf, lout

Declension

Second-declension noun.

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	gurdus	gurdī
Genitive	gurdī	gurdōrum
Dative	gurdō	gurdīs
Accusative	gurdum	gurdōs
Ablative	gurdō	gurdīs
Vocative	gurde	gurdī

Synonyms

• (dolt, jolterhead, numskull, blockhead, oaf, dullard, lout): caudex

Derived terms

• gurdōnicus

Descendants

• Asturian: gordu
• Catalan: gord
• French: gourd
• Galician: gordo
• Norman: gourd
• Portuguese: gordo
• Spanish: gordo

References

• “gurdus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• gurdus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• gurdus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 728/1.
• “gurdus” on page 778/2 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)