Quirites is the name ofRoman citizens in their peacetime functions.[1] Its use excluded military statute. During the mutiny of his legions in 47 BC,Julius Caesar expressed the dismissal of his army by addressing them as Quirites, implying his soldiers had been returned to civilian life.
LatinQuirītis most likely stems from an earlier *quiri-, although an etymology from *queri- cannot be excluded in view of the sporadicassimilation of *e to ani in the following syllable. Its original meaning remains uncertain. According to linguistMichiel de Vaan, since thequirīs andQuirīnus are connected withSabellic immigrants into Rome in ancient legends, it may be a loanword.[1] Ancient etymologies derived the term from theSabine word for "spear",[2] or from the Sabine capitol ofCures, after the Sabine people were assimilated early in Roman history.[3]
The etymology*ko-wir-, then *co-uiri-um, 'assembly of the men', has been proposed by some scholars,[4] although de Vaan notes that it "is not credible phonetically and not very compelling semantically".[1]
Combined in the phrasepopulus Romanus quirites (orquiritium) it denoted the individual citizen as contrasted with the community. Henceius quiritium inRoman law is full Roman citizenship. Subsequently, the term was applied (sometimes in a deprecatory sense, cf.Tac.Ann. ~. 42) to the Romans in domestic affairs, Romani being reserved for foreign affairs.[5]
The English wordcry comes from Frenchcrier, from Latinquirītāre, meaning 'to raise a plaintive cry, a public outcry'. According toVarro, it originally meant 'to implore the aid of theQuirītes or Roman citizens' (quiritare dicitur is qui Quiritum fidem clamans implorat).[1][6]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Quirites".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 763. | Thisancient Rome–related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |