# alacer
## Latin
### Etymology

Somewhat uncertain. The masculine nominative singular form is derived by syncope from alacris (attested in Ennius), which probably developed by dissimilation from earlier *alaklis, with the ending ultimately going back to -*tlis, from Proto-Indo-European *-tl-, a variant of the zero-grade of the agent suffix *-tḗr. Compare volucer, volucris. However, De Vaan regards the origin of the *-kris ending as uncertain. The *ala- portion is seemingly from a root of the form *h₂elH-. De Vaan and Schrijver consider ambulō (“to traverse, walk”) a potential but not certain cognate, and reconstruct the common root (if the relationship is valid) as Proto-Indo-European *h₂elh₂- (“to wander, roam”), cognate with Ancient Greek ἀλάομαι (aláomai, “roam”). The same root may alternatively be reconstructed as Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-. Another possible cognate is Ancient Greek ἐλαύνω (elaúnō, “to drive”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁elh₂- (“to drive”). Another theory connects the word to Proto-Germanic *aljaną (“vigor, strength”), whence English ellen.

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈa.la.ker/, [ˈäɫ̪äkɛr]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈa.la.t͡ʃer/, [ˈäːlät͡ʃer]

### Adjective

alacer (feminine alacris, neuter alacre, comparative alacrior); third-declension three-termination adjective
* lively, brisk, quick, eager, active, peppy, excited
    Synonyms: strēnuus, impiger, vīvus, ācer, fortis
    Antonym: sēgnis
* glad, happy, cheerful
    Synonyms: libēns, laetus, vīvus, felix, hilaris, hilarus
    Antonyms: trīstis, infelix, maestus, miser, aeger

#### Usage notes

The superlative form alacerrimus is very rare in old and classical Latin.

#### Declension

Third-declension three-termination adjective.

#### Derived terms

* alacritās
* alacriter

#### Descendants

* English: alacrify
* Gallo-Italic
** Ligurian: alêgro
** Lombard: allégher, alégher
** Piedmontese: alégher
* Italo-Dalmatian
** Corsican: alegru, allegru
    Gallurese: allegru
** Dalmatian: alegr, aleger (Vegliot)
** Italian: alacre
** Sassarese: allegru
* Old French: halaigre
** French: allègre
*** → Italian: allegro (see there for further descendants)
*** → Romanian: alegru
** Norman: allègre
* Old Occitan:
** Catalan: alegre
** Occitan: alègre
* Rhaeto-Romance
** Friulian: legri
** Romansch: alleger
* Sardinian: allegru
    Campidanese: allirgu
    Logudorese: allegru
* Venetan: aliegro, ałégro, ałłégro
* West Iberian
** Aragonese: alegre
** Extremaduran: alegri
** Old Leonese:
*** Asturian: allegre
*** Leonese: allegre
** → Old Galician-Portuguese: alegre
*** Galician: alegre
*** Portuguese: alegre
** Old Spanish:
*** Ladino: alegre
*** Spanish: alegre
* → Basque: alaikiro
* → Portuguese: álacre

### References

* ↑ Ranjan Sen (2015) Syllable and Segment in Latin, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 107
* 1 2 Weiss, Michael L. (2009) Outline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin‎, Ann Arbor: Beech Stave Press, →ISBN, page 318
* 1 2 3 De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “alacer”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 32
* 1 2 Schrijver, Peter C. H. (1991) The reflexes of the Proto-Indo-European laryngeals in Latin (Leiden studies in Indo-European; 2), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, →ISBN, page 40

### Further reading

* “alacer”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “alacer”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* alacer in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
* Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co. to show a brisk and cheerful spirit: alacri et erecto animo esse