forsitan
Meaning
- not comparableperhaps, perchance, maybe
et aut ego indigna fui illis aut illi mihi forsitan digni non fuerunt quia forsitan viro alio conservasti me
And either I was unworthy of them, or they perhaps were not worthy of me: because perhaps thou hast kept me for another man,c. 347 CE – 420 CE, Hieronymus, Vulgate Tobiae.3.19
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Casu · Forte · Fortuito · Fortasse · Forsitan · Haud scio an
Casu, forte, and fortuito, denote a casualty, and indeed, casu, in opp. to consulto, συμβεβηκότως; forte, without particular stress on the casualty, τυχόν; fortuito, fortuitu, emphatically, by mere chance, in opp. to causa, ἀπὸ τύχης; whereas fortasse, forsitan, and haud scio an, denote possibility, and indeed fortasse, fortassis, with an emphatic perception and affirmation of the possibility, as approaching to probability, and are in construction with the indicative, ἴσως; forsitan, forsan, with merely an occasional perception of the possibility, and are in construction with a conjunctive, τάχ’ ἄν; haud scio an, with a modest denial of one’s own certainty; consequently, haud scio an is an euphemistic limitation of the assertion. Fortasse verum est, and forsitan verum sit, mean, perhaps it is true, perhaps not; but haud scio an verum sit means, I think it true, but I will not affirm it as certain. (v. 294.)
only so in Cicero): si altera illaec magis instabit, forsitan nos reiciat, Ter. Phorm. 4, 5, 5: longiorem orationem causa forsitan postulet, tua certe natura breviorem, Cic. Lig. 12, 38 (al. fortasse postulat, v. Halm. ad loc.): forsitan quaeratis, qui iste terror sit, etc., id. Rosc. Am. 2, 5; Verg. G. 2, 288: forsitan quispiam dixerit: Nonne, etc., Cic. Off. 3, 6, 29 (for which: fortasse dixerit quispiam, id. de Sen. 3, 8): forsitan occurrat illud, etc., id. de Or. 3, 9, 34: major ars aliqua forsitan esset requirenda, id. ib. 2, 45, 189; 1, 15, 67: illud forsitan quaerendum sit, num, etc., id. Off. 1, 45, 159: haec ipsa forsitan fuerint non necessaria, id. Brut. 13, 52: forsitan meliores illi accusatores habendi sint, Cic. Verr. 2, 1, 38, § 58: nimium forsitan haec illi mirentur atque efferant, id. ib. 2, 4, 56, § 124.—With sed: quae forsitan vobis parvae esse videantur: sed, etc., Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 21 fin.; id. Att. 12, 18, 1; so with subj., Liv. 3, 25, 9: quae forsitan laus sit, verum tamen, Cic. Brut. 8, 33: forsitan dicatis, Liv. 31, 31, 19: matrem insimulare forsitan fas non sit, id. 39, 10, 4; 31, 38, 4; 40, 15, 4; Quint. 2, 16, 11.—not in Cic.): forsitan et publica, sua certe liberata fide, in castra redierunt, Liv. 9, 11, 13; 22, 23, 5; cf. Sall. J. 106, 3: incipies forsitan justus esse rex, Curt. 7, 4, 17: forsitan non periculosius est tacere quam dicere, id. 7, 1, 37; 4, 14, 20; Liv. 21, 40: forsitan haec aliquis, nam sunt quoque, parva vocabit, Ov. R. Am. 419: forsitan ventos timebas, id. F. 2, 97.—neque id facio, ut quibusdam forsitan videor, etc., Cic. Fam. 1, 8, 2.—With quam: videor jam liberius loqui debere quam forsitan ipsi velint, Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 4, § 11.—With quod: decrevi ad te scribere, quod forsitan minus ea perspicias, Serv. ap. Cic. Fam. 4, 5, 1.—With cum: minime consentaneum est, cum bello tuo forsitan vix sufficias, Liv. 10, 18, 3 (but not in Lucr. 5, 610, where the correct read. is forsitan e rosea, etc.; v. Lachm. p. 302).Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
Origins
From fors (“chance”) + sit (“be”, subjunctive) + an (“whether”).