festīvus

* * *

festīvus, a, um, adj. [1. festus; lit., feast-like, belonging to a feast; hence], lively, gay, festive, joyous, gladsome, merry (syn.: lepidus, urbanus, salsus, facetus).

Lit. (ante- and post-class.): festivum festinant diem, Enn. ap. Serv. Verg. A. 9, 401 (Trag. v. 434 ed. Vahl.):

ludi,

Plaut. Cas. 4, 1, 3; cf.

alea,

Gell. 18, 13, 1:

locus,

Plaut. Capt. 2, 1, 5; id. Poen. 5, 1, 9:

facinus lepidum et festivum,

id. ib. 1, 2, 95:

hospitium in lepido loco,

id. ib. 3, 3, 82; cf.:

festivissimum convivium,

Just. 38, 8 fin. —

Subst.: festīvum, i, n., festive jollity, festivity:

in vindemiarum festivo,

Lampr. Heliog. 11.—

Transf.

In gen., agreeable, pleasing, handsome, pretty:

luculenta atque festiva femina,

Plaut. Mil. 4, 1, 12; cf. id. Ep. 5, 1, 17:

nonne igitur sunt ista festiva?

Cic. Par. 5, 2, 38:

aedes festivissimae,

Plaut. Curc. 1, 1, 93:

area parvula sed festiva,

Plin. Ep. 2, 17, 4:

copia librorum,

Cic. Att. 2, 6, 1:

opera,

Plaut. Mil. 2, 6, 108. —

In partic.

Of behavior, character, etc., jovial, jocose, agreeable, dear:

quod te isti facilem et festivum putant,

Ter. Ad. 5, 9, 29:

puer,

Cic. Att. 1, 12 fin.; cf.:

quibus (pueris) nihil potest esse festivius,

id. Fam. 6, 4, 3:

filius,

id. Fl. 36, 91:

homo,

id. Phil. 5, 5, 13; id. de Or. 2, 68, 277. —

As a term of endearment:

o mi pater festivissime!

Ter. Ad. 5, 9, 26; so,

festivum caput!

id. ib. 2, 3, 8.—

Of speech, humorous, pleasant, witty:

dulcis et facetus festivique sermonis,

Cic. Off. 1, 30, 108:

poëma facit ita festivum, ita concinnum, ita elegans, nihil ut fieri possit argutius,

id. Pis. 29, 70:

oratio,

id. de Or. 3, 25, 100:

acroama,

id. Verr. 2, 4, 22, § 49; Quint. 6, 3, 39.— Hence, adv., in two forms, festīve (class.) and festīvĭter (ante- and post-class.).

Joyously, gayly, cheerfully:

loco in festivo sumus festive accepti,

Plaut. Ps. 5, 1, 9.—

Transf.

Agreeably, pleasantly, delightfully: o domus parata pulchrae familiae festiviter! Naev. ap. Non. 510, 16. —

Humorously, facetiously, wittily.

Form festive:

agere fabellam,

Cic. Q. Fr. 2, 16, 3:

crimen contexere,

id. Deiot. 6, 19:

dissolvere argumentum,

id. Div. 2, 15, 35:

aliquid odorari,

id. Att. 4, 14, 2:

tradere elementa loquendi,

id. Ac. 2, 28, 92. As a particle of assent:

quare bene et praeclare quamvis nobis saepe dicatur: belle et festive nimium saepe nolo,

Cic. de Or. 3, 26, 101.—

Form festiviter: Epictetus severe simul ac festiviter sejunxit a vero Stoico, qui esset akôlutos, Gell. 1, 2, 7:

respondere,

id. 1, 22, 6.— Sup.: decorare festum festivissime, Poët. ap. Charis. 2, p. 180 P. (Rib. Fragm. Trag. Inc. 223).

ENG white-naped woodpecker

NLD zwartrugspecht

festīvus, a, um, adj. [1. festus; lit., feast-like, belonging to a feast; hence], lively, gay, festive, joyous, gladsome, merry (syn.: lepidus, urbanus, salsus, facetus).

Lit. (ante- and post-class.): festivum festinant diem, Enn. ap. Serv. Verg. A. 9, 401 (Trag. v. 434 ed. Vahl.):

ludi,

Plaut. Cas. 4, 1, 3; cf.

alea,

Gell. 18, 13, 1:

locus,

Plaut. Capt. 2, 1, 5; id. Poen. 5, 1, 9:

facinus lepidum et festivum,

id. ib. 1, 2, 95:

hospitium in lepido loco,

id. ib. 3, 3, 82; cf.:

festivissimum convivium,

Just. 38, 8 fin. —

Subst.: festīvum, i, n., festive jollity, festivity:

in vindemiarum festivo,

Lampr. Heliog. 11.—

Transf.

In gen., agreeable, pleasing, handsome, pretty:

luculenta atque festiva femina,

Plaut. Mil. 4, 1, 12; cf. id. Ep. 5, 1, 17:

nonne igitur sunt ista festiva?

Cic. Par. 5, 2, 38:

aedes festivissimae,

Plaut. Curc. 1, 1, 93:

area parvula sed festiva,

Plin. Ep. 2, 17, 4:

copia librorum,

Cic. Att. 2, 6, 1:

opera,

Plaut. Mil. 2, 6, 108. —

In partic.

Of behavior, character, etc., jovial, jocose, agreeable, dear:

quod te isti facilem et festivum putant,

Ter. Ad. 5, 9, 29:

puer,

Cic. Att. 1, 12 fin.; cf.:

quibus (pueris) nihil potest esse festivius,

id. Fam. 6, 4, 3:

filius,

id. Fl. 36, 91:

homo,

id. Phil. 5, 5, 13; id. de Or. 2, 68, 277. —

As a term of endearment:

o mi pater festivissime!

Ter. Ad. 5, 9, 26; so,

festivum caput!

id. ib. 2, 3, 8.—

Of speech, humorous, pleasant, witty:

dulcis et facetus festivique sermonis,

Cic. Off. 1, 30, 108:

poëma facit ita festivum, ita concinnum, ita elegans, nihil ut fieri possit argutius,

id. Pis. 29, 70:

oratio,

id. de Or. 3, 25, 100:

acroama,

id. Verr. 2, 4, 22, § 49; Quint. 6, 3, 39.— Hence, adv., in two forms, festīve (class.) and festīvĭter (ante- and post-class.).

Joyously, gayly, cheerfully:

loco in festivo sumus festive accepti,

Plaut. Ps. 5, 1, 9.—

Transf.

Agreeably, pleasantly, delightfully: o domus parata pulchrae familiae festiviter! Naev. ap. Non. 510, 16. —

Humorously, facetiously, wittily.

Form festive:

agere fabellam,

Cic. Q. Fr. 2, 16, 3:

crimen contexere,

id. Deiot. 6, 19:

dissolvere argumentum,

id. Div. 2, 15, 35:

aliquid odorari,

id. Att. 4, 14, 2:

tradere elementa loquendi,

id. Ac. 2, 28, 92. As a particle of assent:

quare bene et praeclare quamvis nobis saepe dicatur: belle et festive nimium saepe nolo,

Cic. de Or. 3, 26, 101.—

Form festiviter: Epictetus severe simul ac festiviter sejunxit a vero Stoico, qui esset akôlutos, Gell. 1, 2, 7:

respondere,

id. 1, 22, 6.— Sup.: decorare festum festivissime, Poët. ap. Charis. 2, p. 180 P. (Rib. Fragm. Trag. Inc. 223).

festīvĭtas, ātis, f. [festivus], festive gayety, festivity, mirth, merriment, joy. *

Lit.:

jocum, festivitatem, ferias,

Plaut. Capt. 4, 1, 3.—

Transf.

As a word of endearment (Plautinian):

mi animule, Mea vita, mea festivitas (for which, shortly after: voluptas mea, meus festus dies),

my joy, my delight, Plaut. Cas. 1, 47; 3, 3, 14; id. Poen. 1, 2, 176.—

A pleasant or kind demeanor, kindness:

mei patris festivitas et facilitas,

Ter. Eun. 5, 9, 18; cf. festivus, II. A.—

Of speech, humor, pleasantry, jocoseness (Ciceron.;

syn.: facetiae, lepor, sal): cum in illo genere perpetuae festivitatis ars non desideretur,

Cic. de Or. 2, 54, 219:

festivitate et facetiis C. Julius omnibus praestitit,

id. Brut. 48, 177:

nec umquam fuit oratio lepore et festivitate conditior (shortly before: faceta et urbana),

id. de Or. 2, 56, 227:

summa festivitate et venustate,

id. ib. 1, 57, 243; id. Inv. 1, 18, 25:

imago antiquae et vernaculae festivitatis (corresp. to facetiae and lepores),

id. Fam. 9, 15, 2.—In plur.:

Gorgias his festivitatibus insolentius abutitur,

play of words, witticism, Cic. Or. 52, 176; Gell. praef. § 4.—

Post-class., a festival, feast: festivitas in cunctis oppidis celebranda, Cod. Th. 15, 5, 3; Lampr. Alex. Sev. 63.—In plur.:

sollennes, Cod. Th. 6, 8, 1: natalium principis,

ib. 6, 4, 30.

* * *

* * *

ēlĕgans (in some MSS. eligans; cf. Beier Cic. Orr. Fragmm. p. 105), antis, adj. [prob. collat. form of eligens, from eligo, Cic. N. D. 2, 28, 72].

In the ante-class. period in a bad sense, luxurious, effeminate, fastidious, nice: elegans homo non dicebatur cum laude;

sed id fere verbum ad aetatem M. Catonis vitii, non laudis fuit... ex quibus verbis (Catonis) apparet, elegantem dictum antiquitus non ab ingenii elegantia, sed qui nimis lecto amoenoque cultu victuque esset, etc.,

Gell. 11, 2, 1; cf. Non. 465, 11 sq.:

heia, ut elegans est!

how choice! how nice! Ter. Heaut. 5, 5, 19 Ruhnk.; cf. id. Eun. 3, 1, 18; 3, 5, 18 (but not in Plaut. Trin. 2, 1, 14, v. Ritschl ad h. l.).—

Class. in a good sense, choice, nice, fine, neat, tasteful, elegant.

Of persons: tu festivus, tu elegans, tu solus urbanus, quem decet muliebris ornatus, etc., Cic. Clod. et Cur. 5, p. 105, ed. Beier; cf. (with mundus) id. Fin. 2, 8, 23; (with splendidus) Nep. Att. 13, 5;

and opp. parcus,

Cic. Brut. 40, 148; id. Or. 25, 83:

auctor,

Vell. 1, 13:

mulier (Phryne—with formosa),

Val. Max. 4, 3, 3 ext.:

intelligo te hominem in omni judicio elegantissimum,

Cic. Fam. 7, 23 et saep.:

scriptor,

id. Brut. 9; 16, 63; 68, 239; Quint. 10, 1, 78 al.; cf. in the comp.: quis verbis aut ornatior aut elegantior (sc. Caesare)? Cic. ap. Suet. Caes. 55; in the sup.:

poëta,

Nep. Att. 12, 4:

elegans et concinnus (pictor),

Plin. 35, 10, 36, § 111.—As subst.: ēlĕgantes, ium, m., fine gentlemen, city people (opp. agrestes), Col. 7, 2, 1.—

Of things:

nec magis compositum quicquam, nec magis elegans,

Ter. Eun. 5, 4, 13; cf. (with decorum) Cic. Div. 1, 30:

a necessariis artificiis ad elegantiora defluximus,

id. Tusc. 1, 25, 62; cf. Liv. 44, 9:

artes elegantes et ingenuae,

Cic. Fin. 3, 2:

temperamentum,

Tac. A. 11, 4:

color,

Plin. 15, 8, 8, § 34 et saep.:

perspicitis, hoc genus (jocandi) quam sit facetum, quam elegans, quam oratorium,

Cic. de Or. 2, 59, 241; cf. id. Off. 1, 29, 104; id. Brut. 85; Quint. 6, 3, 39; 10, 1, 65 al.— Comp.:

ego autem a te elegantiora desidero,

Cic. Fin. 4, 10; and sup.:

epistola,

id. Att. 16, 13 a.; cf.:

scripta Terentii,

Quint. 10, 1, 99: utrum sit elegantius, Anton. ap. Cic. Phil. 13, 18:

solum,

Plin. 14, 4, 5, § 50. —Hence, adv.: ēlĕganter, with correct choice, tastefully, neatly, finely, gracefully, elegantly:

lautiores eleganter accepti,

Cic. Att. 13, 52, 2:

quiete et pure atque eleganter acta aetas,

id. de Sen. 5; cf.:

acta vita,

Liv. 35, 31:

herba foliis rotundis eleganter vestita,

Plin. 25, 5, 19, § 43 et saep.— Comp.:

psallere et saltare,

Sall. C. 24, 2:

quid enim facere potuit elegantius ad hominum existimationem?

Cic. Div. in Caecil. 17:

elegantius aut justius fieri,

id. Fam. 3, 8, 2:

facturos si, etc.,

Liv. 37, 1:

neminem elegantius loca cepisse,

more fitly, judiciously, Liv. 35, 14:

causam accurate eleganterque dicere,

Cic. Brut. 22, 86;

so of speech,

id. Fam. 5, 13, 3; id. Tusc. 2, 3; Quint. 6, 3, 102; 8, 2, 21 al.; cf. in the sup., Cic. Brut. 72, 252; Quint. 11, 1, 74.

ēlĕgans (in some MSS. eligans; cf. Beier Cic. Orr. Fragmm. p. 105), antis, adj. [prob. collat. form of eligens, from eligo, Cic. N. D. 2, 28, 72].

In the ante-class. period in a bad sense, luxurious, effeminate, fastidious, nice: elegans homo non dicebatur cum laude;

sed id fere verbum ad aetatem M. Catonis vitii, non laudis fuit... ex quibus verbis (Catonis) apparet, elegantem dictum antiquitus non ab ingenii elegantia, sed qui nimis lecto amoenoque cultu victuque esset, etc.,

Gell. 11, 2, 1; cf. Non. 465, 11 sq.:

heia, ut elegans est!

how choice! how nice! Ter. Heaut. 5, 5, 19 Ruhnk.; cf. id. Eun. 3, 1, 18; 3, 5, 18 (but not in Plaut. Trin. 2, 1, 14, v. Ritschl ad h. l.).—

Class. in a good sense, choice, nice, fine, neat, tasteful, elegant.

Of persons: tu festivus, tu elegans, tu solus urbanus, quem decet muliebris ornatus, etc., Cic. Clod. et Cur. 5, p. 105, ed. Beier; cf. (with mundus) id. Fin. 2, 8, 23; (with splendidus) Nep. Att. 13, 5;

and opp. parcus,

Cic. Brut. 40, 148; id. Or. 25, 83:

auctor,

Vell. 1, 13:

mulier (Phryne—with formosa),

Val. Max. 4, 3, 3 ext.:

intelligo te hominem in omni judicio elegantissimum,

Cic. Fam. 7, 23 et saep.:

scriptor,

id. Brut. 9; 16, 63; 68, 239; Quint. 10, 1, 78 al.; cf. in the comp.: quis verbis aut ornatior aut elegantior (sc. Caesare)? Cic. ap. Suet. Caes. 55; in the sup.:

poëta,

Nep. Att. 12, 4:

elegans et concinnus (pictor),

Plin. 35, 10, 36, § 111.—As subst.: ēlĕgantes, ium, m., fine gentlemen, city people (opp. agrestes), Col. 7, 2, 1.—

Of things:

nec magis compositum quicquam, nec magis elegans,

Ter. Eun. 5, 4, 13; cf. (with decorum) Cic. Div. 1, 30:

a necessariis artificiis ad elegantiora defluximus,

id. Tusc. 1, 25, 62; cf. Liv. 44, 9:

artes elegantes et ingenuae,

Cic. Fin. 3, 2:

temperamentum,

Tac. A. 11, 4:

color,

Plin. 15, 8, 8, § 34 et saep.:

perspicitis, hoc genus (jocandi) quam sit facetum, quam elegans, quam oratorium,

Cic. de Or. 2, 59, 241; cf. id. Off. 1, 29, 104; id. Brut. 85; Quint. 6, 3, 39; 10, 1, 65 al.— Comp.:

ego autem a te elegantiora desidero,

Cic. Fin. 4, 10; and sup.:

epistola,

id. Att. 16, 13 a.; cf.:

scripta Terentii,

Quint. 10, 1, 99: utrum sit elegantius, Anton. ap. Cic. Phil. 13, 18:

solum,

Plin. 14, 4, 5, § 50. —Hence, adv.: ēlĕganter, with correct choice, tastefully, neatly, finely, gracefully, elegantly:

lautiores eleganter accepti,

Cic. Att. 13, 52, 2:

quiete et pure atque eleganter acta aetas,

id. de Sen. 5; cf.:

acta vita,

Liv. 35, 31:

herba foliis rotundis eleganter vestita,

Plin. 25, 5, 19, § 43 et saep.— Comp.:

psallere et saltare,

Sall. C. 24, 2:

quid enim facere potuit elegantius ad hominum existimationem?

Cic. Div. in Caecil. 17:

elegantius aut justius fieri,

id. Fam. 3, 8, 2:

facturos si, etc.,

Liv. 37, 1:

neminem elegantius loca cepisse,

more fitly, judiciously, Liv. 35, 14:

causam accurate eleganterque dicere,

Cic. Brut. 22, 86;

so of speech,

id. Fam. 5, 13, 3; id. Tusc. 2, 3; Quint. 6, 3, 102; 8, 2, 21 al.; cf. in the sup., Cic. Brut. 72, 252; Quint. 11, 1, 74.

V, v, a character derived from the Greek g, Mar. Victor. p. 2459 P. A consonant which, though originally written with the same sign as the vowel u (v. the letter U), was by the ancients themselves considered as essentially different from it, Charis. p. 57 P.; Diom. p. 416; 420 P.; Prisc. p. 539; 542; 544 sq. P.; Vel. Long. p. 2215; 2222 P.; just as the consonant i ( j) and the vowel i were regarded as two distinct letters; v. the letter J.

The sound of V seems to have been the same with that of English initial W. It corresponded to the Æolic digamma;

hence it is called,

Quint. 12, 10, 29, Aeolica littera, and the emperor Claudius used the Greek digamma inverted F to represent it (because in its proper position it already formed the Latin letter F), Quint. 1, 7, 26; Prisc. p. 545 sq. P.; Gell. 14, 5, 2;

v. also the inscrr. of the period during and immediately succeeding the reign of Claudius,

Inscr. Orell. 710 sq.; Marini Atti, p. 97. In very many words which were originally common to both languages, the initial or medial v in Latin represents a lost digamma in Greek; cf.: ver, êr; vis, is; video, ID; vestis, esthês; vitulus, italos; vomo, emeô; voco, epô; volvo, eilô; vinum, oinos; viola, ion; vespera, hespera; Vesta, Hestia; silva, hulê; ovis, oïs; divus, dios; aevum, aiôn; scaevus, skaios; vicus, oikos; levis, leios al. (For a full discussion of the sound of V, see Roby, Gram. I. praef. p. xxxiii. sqq.).—

V has the closest affinity to the vowel u, and hence, in the course of composition and inflection, it often passed into the latter: solvo, solutum, from solvĭtum, solŭĭtum; caveo, cautum, from cavitum; fautor, from faveo; lautum, from lavo; nauta, from navita; audeo, cf. avidus; neu, seu, from neve, sive; tui, cf. Sanscr. tvam; sui, Sanscr. sva-; suavis, Sanscr. svadus, and is resolved into it by the poets from prosodial necessity: silŭa (trisyl.) for silva; dissŏlŭo, evŏlŭam (quadrisyl.), for dissolvam, evolvam; dissŏlŭenda, evolŭisse (quinquasyl.), for dissolvenda, evolvisse, etc., just as, for the same cause, although less freq., u passed into v: gēnva, tēnvis (dissyl.), for gēnŭa, tĕnŭis; tēnvĭa, tēnvĭus (trisyl.), for tĕnŭĭa, tĕnŭĭus.—For the affinity of v to b, v. the letter B.—

V as a medial between two vowels was very freq. elided, esp. in inflection, and the word underwent in consequence a greater or less contraction: amavisti, amāsti; deleverunt, delērunt; novisti, nōsti; audivisti, audīsti, or audiisti; siveris, siris, or sieris; obliviscor, oblitus; dives, dis; aeviternus, aeternus; divitior, ditior; bovibus, bubus, etc.; providens, prudens; movimentum, momentum; provorsus, prorsus; si vis, sis; si vultis, sultis; Jovis pater, Juppiter; mage volo, mavolo, malo; non volo, nolo, etc. An example of the elision of v without a further contraction of the word is found in seorsus, from sevorsus (v. seorsus).—This etymological suppression of v is to be distinguished from its purely orthographical omission before or after u in ancient MSS. and inscriptions, as serus for servus, noum for novum, festius for festivus, Pacuius for Pacuvius; cf. the letters J and Q.—V is sometimes elided after a mute: dis for dvis from duo; likewise after s: sibi for svibi (from su-ibi); sis, sas, sos, for suis, suas, suos; sultis for si vultis; so Lat. si corresponds to Umbr. sve and Osc. svai; v. esp. Corss. Ausspr. 1, p. 310 sqq.—

As an abbreviation, V (as the sign of the consonant) stands for vir, vivus, vixit, voto, vale, verba, etc.; V. C., or also VC., vir clarissimus; VCP., voti compos posuit; V. V., virgo Vestalis; V. F. Q. D. E. R. F. P. D. E. R. I. C., verba fecerunt. Quid de eā re fieri placeret, de eā re ita censuerunt.—As a numeral, the letter V stands for half of the geometrical cross X or ten, Zumpt, Gr. § 115 Anm. 1.

V, v, a character derived from the Greek g, Mar. Victor. p. 2459 P. A consonant which, though originally written with the same sign as the vowel u (v. the letter U), was by the ancients themselves considered as essentially different from it, Charis. p. 57 P.; Diom. p. 416; 420 P.; Prisc. p. 539; 542; 544 sq. P.; Vel. Long. p. 2215; 2222 P.; just as the consonant i ( j) and the vowel i were regarded as two distinct letters; v. the letter J.

The sound of V seems to have been the same with that of English initial W. It corresponded to the Æolic digamma;

hence it is called,

Quint. 12, 10, 29, Aeolica littera, and the emperor Claudius used the Greek digamma inverted F to represent it (because in its proper position it already formed the Latin letter F), Quint. 1, 7, 26; Prisc. p. 545 sq. P.; Gell. 14, 5, 2;

v. also the inscrr. of the period during and immediately succeeding the reign of Claudius,

Inscr. Orell. 710 sq.; Marini Atti, p. 97. In very many words which were originally common to both languages, the initial or medial v in Latin represents a lost digamma in Greek; cf.: ver, êr; vis, is; video, ID; vestis, esthês; vitulus, italos; vomo, emeô; voco, epô; volvo, eilô; vinum, oinos; viola, ion; vespera, hespera; Vesta, Hestia; silva, hulê; ovis, oïs; divus, dios; aevum, aiôn; scaevus, skaios; vicus, oikos; levis, leios al. (For a full discussion of the sound of V, see Roby, Gram. I. praef. p. xxxiii. sqq.).—

V has the closest affinity to the vowel u, and hence, in the course of composition and inflection, it often passed into the latter: solvo, solutum, from solvĭtum, solŭĭtum; caveo, cautum, from cavitum; fautor, from faveo; lautum, from lavo; nauta, from navita; audeo, cf. avidus; neu, seu, from neve, sive; tui, cf. Sanscr. tvam; sui, Sanscr. sva-; suavis, Sanscr. svadus, and is resolved into it by the poets from prosodial necessity: silŭa (trisyl.) for silva; dissŏlŭo, evŏlŭam (quadrisyl.), for dissolvam, evolvam; dissŏlŭenda, evolŭisse (quinquasyl.), for dissolvenda, evolvisse, etc., just as, for the same cause, although less freq., u passed into v: gēnva, tēnvis (dissyl.), for gēnŭa, tĕnŭis; tēnvĭa, tēnvĭus (trisyl.), for tĕnŭĭa, tĕnŭĭus.—For the affinity of v to b, v. the letter B.—

V as a medial between two vowels was very freq. elided, esp. in inflection, and the word underwent in consequence a greater or less contraction: amavisti, amāsti; deleverunt, delērunt; novisti, nōsti; audivisti, audīsti, or audiisti; siveris, siris, or sieris; obliviscor, oblitus; dives, dis; aeviternus, aeternus; divitior, ditior; bovibus, bubus, etc.; providens, prudens; movimentum, momentum; provorsus, prorsus; si vis, sis; si vultis, sultis; Jovis pater, Juppiter; mage volo, mavolo, malo; non volo, nolo, etc. An example of the elision of v without a further contraction of the word is found in seorsus, from sevorsus (v. seorsus).—This etymological suppression of v is to be distinguished from its purely orthographical omission before or after u in ancient MSS. and inscriptions, as serus for servus, noum for novum, festius for festivus, Pacuius for Pacuvius; cf. the letters J and Q.—V is sometimes elided after a mute: dis for dvis from duo; likewise after s: sibi for svibi (from su-ibi); sis, sas, sos, for suis, suas, suos; sultis for si vultis; so Lat. si corresponds to Umbr. sve and Osc. svai; v. esp. Corss. Ausspr. 1, p. 310 sqq.—

As an abbreviation, V (as the sign of the consonant) stands for vir, vivus, vixit, voto, vale, verba, etc.; V. C., or also VC., vir clarissimus; VCP., voti compos posuit; V. V., virgo Vestalis; V. F. Q. D. E. R. F. P. D. E. R. I. C., verba fecerunt. Quid de eā re fieri placeret, de eā re ita censuerunt.—As a numeral, the letter V stands for half of the geometrical cross X or ten, Zumpt, Gr. § 115 Anm. 1.