suavis

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *swāwis, from Proto-Italic *suādwus, from Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus (“sweet”).^[1]^[2]^[3] The extension of the u-stem into an i-stem is regular (compare brevis, tenuis) and must have occurred before the loss of *-d- in medial *-dw-.^[3]

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈsʷaː.wɪs]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈsʷaː.vis]
(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [suˈaː.wɪs]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [suˈaː.vis]
Note: the first u is found scanned as a consonant glide in Plautus, Terence and classical poetry, but sparely also as a vowel in some Late Latin poetry of the 5th and 6th centuries, with Romance descendants typically reflecting the latter. However, compare the early attestation of sŭādent in Lucretius.

Adjective

suāvis (neuter suāve, comparative suāvior, superlative suāvissimus, adverb suāve or suāviter); third-declension two-termination adjective

sweet, pleasant, delicious

Declension

Third-declension two-termination adjective.

	masc./fem.	neuter	masc./fem.	neuter
	singular		plural
nominative	suāvis	suāve	suāvēs	suāvia
genitive	suāvis		suāvium
dative	suāvī		suāvibus
accusative	suāvem	suāve	suāvēs suāvīs	suāvia
ablative	suāvī		suāvibus
vocative	suāvis	suāve	suāvēs	suāvia

Derived terms

Related terms

suādeō

Descendants

Occitano-Romance:
- Occitan: suau
- Catalan: suau
- Aragonese: suau
Italian: soave, suave (archaic)
Old French: soef
- Middle French: souef
  - Norman: souef
→ Middle English: suave
- English: suave
→ Middle French: suave
- French: suave
→ Portuguese: suave
→ Spanish: suave

References

^ Pokorny, Julius (1959) “su̯ād-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 3, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 1039f.
^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “suāvis”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 594
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Sihler, Andrew L. (1995) New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, § 185.2, page 180