quicumque

Latin

Alternative forms

• quīcunque
• quī ... cumque (with tmesis/diacope)

Etymology

From quī +‎ -cumque; quīcunque is a later development reflecting the assimilated pronunciation.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /kʷiːˈkun.kʷe/, [kʷiːˈkʊŋkʷɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /kwiˈkum.kwe/, [kwiˈkumkwe]

Pronoun

quīcumque (feminine quaecumque, neuter quodcumque); relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion

1. whoever, whosoever; whatever, whatsoever
   • 43 BCE, Asinius Pollio, in Cicero, Epistulae ad Familiares 10.31.3:

     Ita si id agitur, ut rursus in potestate omnia unius sint, quicumque is est, ei me profiteor inimicum.

     If therefore events are so developing as to put all power again in the hands of one man, whosoever that man is, I declare myself his foe.

   • c. 40 BCE, Sallust, Bellum Iugurthinum 103:

     Eos ad Marium ac deinde, si placeat, Romam legatos ire iubet; agundarum rerum et quocumque modo belli componundi licentiam ipsis permittit.

     These he ordered to go as envoys to Marius and then, if it seemed advisable, to Rome, giving them complete freedom of action and permission to make peace in whatever manner.

   • c. 110 BCE – c. 25 BCE, Cornelius Nepos, On the Eminent Commanders XIV. Datames 14.10:

     Namque is pollicitus est regi se eum interfecturum, si ei rex permitteret, ut, quodcumque vellet, liceret impune facere, fidemque de ea re more Persarum dextra dedisset.

     For he promised the king that he would kill him [Datames], if the king would allow him to do whatever he wanted with impunity and would give him a pledge to that effect with his right hand after the manner of the Persians.

   • 30 BCE – 16 BCE, Propertius, Elegies 4.1:

     Hoc quodcumque vides, hospes, qua maxima Roma est, / ante Phrygem Aenean collis et herba fuit

     This, stranger, whatsoever you see where Rome the greatest stands, / was hill and grass before Phrygian Aeneas

   • 405 CE, Jerome, Vulgate Psalm 113:11 [115:3]:

     Deus autem noster in caelo, omnia quaecumque voluit fecit.

     But our God is in heaven, and whatsoever he has willed, he has done.

Usage notes

• quīcumque is used both adjectivally and substantivally.
• Cato is cited with the archaic plural form quescumque (from ques).

Declension

Relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	quīcumque	quaecumque	quodcumque		quīcumque1	quaecumque
genitive	cuiuscumque1				quōrumcumque	quārumcumque	quōrumcumque
dative	cuicumque1				quibuscumque quīscumque1
accusative	quemcumque	quamcumque	quodcumque		quōscumque	quāscumque	quaecumque
ablative	quōcumque	quācumque	quōcumque		quibuscumque quīscumque1

¹In Republican Latin or earlier, alternative spellings could be found for the following forms of quī/quis and its compounds: the masculine nominative singular or plural quī (old spelling quei), the genitive singular cuius (old spelling quoius), the dative singular cui (old spelling quoi or quoiei), the dative/ablative plural quīs (old spelling queis).

Related terms

Latin correlatives ^(edit)

type	demonstrative			anaphoric	identity	interrogative/ relative	indefinite					negative	other
	proximal	medial	distal				relative	indefinite	free choice	universal	negative polarity
basic	hic	iste, istic	ille, illic	is	ipse, īdem	quis/quī	quisquis, quīcumque	quis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quispiam	quīvis, quīlibet	quisque	quisquam, ūllus, °aliquisquam	nēmō, nihil, nūllus	alius
dual						uter	utercumque	alteruter	utervīs, uterlibet	uterque		neuter	alter
place	hīc	istīc	illīc	ibī̆	ibī̆dem	ubī̆	ubiubi, ubī̆cumque	alicubī, uspiam	ubivīs, ubilibet	ubīque	usquam	nusquam, nūllibī	alibī, aliās
source	hinc	istinc	illinc	inde	indidem	unde	undecumque, undeunde	alicunde	°undelibet	undique			aliunde
destination	hūc, °hōrsum	istūc, °istōrsum	illūc, °illōrsum	eō	eōdem	quō, quōrsum	quōquō, quōcumque	aliquō, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsum	quōvīs, quōlibet		quōquam	nusquam, nūllōrsum	aliō, aliōrsum
method, means, path, place	hāc	istāc	illāc	eā	eādem	quā	quāquā, quācumque	aliquā	quāvīs, quālibet	quāque		nēquāquam, haudquāquam	aliā
manner	hōc modō	istō modō	illō modō	ita, sīc, eō modō	item, itidem	ut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodum	utut, utcumque, quōmodocumque	quī, quōdam modō, aliquō modō	quōmodolibet	utīque	ūllō modō	nūllō modō	aliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō
time	num, nunc		ōlim	tum, tunc	simul	quandō, ‡cum	cumque, quandōcumque, quandōque	quondam, aliquandō	quandōlibet	quandōque	umquam	numquam	aliās
quantity				tam	†tamen, †tandem	quam	†quamquam	aliquam	quamvīs, quamlibet
size				tantus	tantusdem	quantus	quantuscumque	aliquantus	quantusvīs, quantuslibet
quality				tālis		quālis	quālis, quāliscumque	aliquālis	quālislibet
number				tot	totidem	quot	quotquot, quotcumque	aliquot	quotlibet
order				totus		quotus	quotuscumque	aliquotus	quotuslibet
repetition				totiēns		quotiēns	quotiēnscumque	aliquotiēns	quotiēnslibet
multiplication				totuplex		quotuplex
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated ° Rare ‡only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative

Descendants

• → English: Quicumque vult, Quicunque vult

References

• “quīcumque (or -cunque), quaecumque, quodcumque”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “quīcumque (not -cunque), quaecumque, quodcumque”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• quīcumquĕ (-cunquĕ), quæc-, quodc- in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette, page 1298.