quispiam

Latin

Etymology

Univerbation of quis +‎ -pe +‎ iam.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

quispiam or quīpiam (feminine quaepiam, neuter quidpiam or quippiam); relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion

  1. anybody, anything
  2. somebody, something

Declension

Relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion.

Number Singular Plural
Case / Gender Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative quispiam quaepiam quidpiam
quippiam		 quīpiam1 quaepiam
Genitive cuiuspiam1 quōrumpiam quārumpiam quōrumpiam
Dative cuipiam1 quibuspiam
quīspiam1
Accusative quempiam quampiam quidpiam
quippiam		 quōspiam quāspiam quaepiam
Ablative quōpiam
quīpiam		 quāpiam
quīpiam		 quōpiam
quīpiam		 quibuspiam
quīspiam1

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).

  • The plural is very rare.
  • The feminine nominative singular quaepiam may be unattested in Classical Latin as a pronoun (it is found as an adjective; see below).

Adjective

quispiam (feminine quaepiam, neuter quodpiam); relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion

  1. any
  2. some

Declension

Relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion.

Number Singular Plural
Case / Gender Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative quispiam quaepiam quodpiam quīpiam1 quaepiam
Genitive cuiuspiam1 quōrumpiam quārumpiam quōrumpiam
Dative cuipiam1 quibuspiam
quīspiam1
Accusative quempiam quampiam quodpiam quōspiam quāspiam quaepiam
Ablative quōpiam quāpiam quōpiam quibuspiam
quīspiam1

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).

  • The plural is very rare.

Quotations
  • Marcus Tullius Cicero, in a letter at Varro. In: M. T. Ciceronis Epistolae ad Atticum, ad Quintum Fratrem, ad M. Brutum, et quae vulgo ad Familiares dicuntur, temporis ordine dispositae. Tomus IX. – M. Tullius Cicero's sämmtliche Briefe, übersetzt und erläutert von C. M. Wieland. Neunter Band, Wien und Triest, 1814, p. 232:
    Quamquam tum quidem vel aliae quaepiam rationes, honestas nobiset curas, et actiones darent: nunc autem quid est, sine his cur vivere velimus?
  • Apulejus Madaurensis, Florida. In: Apuleii opera omnia ex editione oudendorpiana, vol. II., London, 1825, p. 922:
    Satis, inquit, mihi fuerit mercedis, Thales sapiens,4 si id, quod a me didicisti, cum proferre ad quospiam coeperis, tibi non asciveris,5 sed ejus inventi me potius, quam alium, repertorem praedicaveris.6
    4 Post inquit voces Th. sapiens ponit Floridus. Id.—5 Abest non a Coll. Voss. Id.—6 Praedicaveris. Pith. praedicaris. Ed. Vic. praedicatis. Id.
    • The wise Thales replied, It will be a sufficient reward to me, if you do not publish what I have taught you as a discovery of your own, but fairly declare that I am the inventor. [1]
    • 'It is enough recompense,' replied Thales the wise, 'if you will refrain from claiming as your own the theory I have taught you, whenever you begin to impart it to others, and will proclaim me and no other as the discoverer of this new law.' [2]

See also
Latin correlatives (edit)
typedemonstrativeanaphoricidentityinterrogative/
relative		indefinitenegativeother
proximalmedialdistalrelativeindefiniteuniversalfree choicenegative polarity
basic hiciste, isticille, illicisipse, īdemquis/quīquisquis, quīcumquequis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quispiamquisquequīvis, quīlibetquisquam, ūllus, °aliquisquamnēmō, nihil, nūllusalius
dual uterutercumquealteruteruterqueutervīs, uterlibetneuteralter
place hīcistīcillīcibī̆ibī̆demubī̆ubiubi, ubī̆cumquealicubī, uspiamubīqueubivīs, ubilibetusquamnusquam, nūllibīalibī, aliās
source hincistincillincindeindidemundeundecumque, undeundealicundeundique°undelibetaliunde
destination hūc, °hōrsumistūc, °istōrsumillūc, °illōrsumeōeōdemquō, quōrsumquōquō, quōcumquealiquō, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsumquōvīs, quōlibetquōquamnusquam, nūllōrsumaliō, aliōrsum
method,
means,
path,
place		 hācistācillāceāeādemquāquāquā, quācumquealiquāquāquequāvīs, quālibetnēquāquam, haudquāquamaliā
manner hōc modōistō modōillō modōita, sīc,
eō modō		item, itidemut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodumutut, utcumque, quōmodocumquequī, quōdam modō, aliquō modōutiquequōmodolibetūllō modōnūllō modōaliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō
time num, nuncōlimtum, tuncsimulquandō, ‡cumcumque, quandōcumque, quandōquequondam, aliquandōquandōquequandōlibetumquamnumquamaliās
quantity tam†tamen, †tandemquam†quamquamaliquamquamvīs, quamlibet
size tantustantusdemquantusquantuscumquealiquantusquantusvīs, quantuslibet
quality tālisquālisquālis, quāliscumquealiquālisquālislibet
number tottotidemquotquotquot, quotcumquealiquotquotlibet
order totusquotusquotuscumquealiquotusquotuslibet
repetition totiēnsquotiēnsquotiēnscumquealiquotiēnsquotiēnslibet
multiplication totuplexquotuplex
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated
° Rare
‡only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative

References
  1. The Dictionary Historical and Critical of Mr. Peter Bayle, 2nd edition, vol. V, S—Z, London, 1738, s.v. Tahles, p. 324. The Latin text is quoted as: "Satis, inquit, mihi fuerit mercedis, Thales sapiens, si id quod à me didicisti, cum proferre ad quospiam coeperis, tibi non adsciveris; sed ejus inventi me potius quam alium repertorem praedicaveris."
  2. H. E. Butler, The Apologia and Florida of Apuleius of Madaura, Oxford, 1909 (Project Gutenberg)

Further reading
  • “quispiam”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “quispiam”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • quispiam in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.