Lucus a non lucendo

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The Latin sentence Lucus a non lucendo can be translated as, "(It is) a grove [lucus] by not being light [lucendo]". In other words, the word for grove is lucus because it is not light (non lucet) in a wooded grove. This etymology by opposites is a byword for any notoriously far-fetched explanation of the derivation of a word.

The sentence originates from the late 4th-century Roman grammarian Honoratus Maurus, "the most learned man of his time". Honoratus gives one more example of etymological explanation by opposites with the line "Bellum a nulla re bella", meaning "(It is) war [bellum] by not being a beautiful [bella] matter". Thus, the word for "war" is bellum because there is nothing beautiful about it.

These fake etymologies have no real historical backing, and are more akin to puns than to genuine linguistic theories.

[edit] References

Thilo, G. & Hagen, H. (eds) (1881). Maurus Servius Honoratus. In Vergilii carmina commentarii. (Leipzig). Available here.