[38]
But Varro had such a passion for derivations that he
derived the name merula “a blackbird” from mera
uolans on the ground that it flies alone! Some
scholars do not hesitate to have recourse to etymology
for the origin of every word, deriving names such as
Rufus or Longus from the appearance of their
possessor, verbs such as strepere or murmurare from
the sounds which they represent, and even extending this practice to certain derivatives, making
uelox for instance find its origin in uelocitas,1 as well
as to compounds and the like: now although such
words doubtless have an origin, no special science is
[p. 131]
required to detect it, since it is only doubtful cases
that demand the intervention of the etymologist.
1 The above makes Quintilian derive velox from velocitas, as Varro (L.L. viii. 15) derives prudens from prudentia. Those who regard this as incredible must with Colson transpose ut. . . velox to follow Rufos making Velox a cognomen, or with Meister read velo for velocitate, or velo citato (Colson).
Quintilian. With an English Translation. Harold Edgeworth Butler. Cambridge. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1920.
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