adverb
nunc
nunc (not comparable)
Classical[ˈnʊŋk]Ecclesiastical[ˈnuŋk]
№ 50 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- not comparableright now, at present, at this time, at this very moment
Quam diu quisquam erit qui te defendere audeat, vives, et vives ita ut nunc vivis, multis meis et firmis praesidiis obsessus ne commovere te contra rem publicam possis. Multorum te etiam oculi et aures non sentientem, sicut adhuc fecerunt, speculabuntur atque custodient.
As long as one person exists who can dare to defend you, yet shall live; but you shall live as you do now, surrounded by my many and trusty guards, so that you shall not be able to stir one finger against the republic: many eyes and ears shall still observe and watch you, as they have hitherto done, though you shall not perceive them.63 BCE, Cicero, Catiline Orations:“[...] Nunc augur Apollō, nunc Lyciae sortēs, nunc et Iove missus ab ipsō interpres dīvum fert horrida iussa per aurās.” “… Now the augur Apollo, now the Lycian oracles, and now – sent by Jupiter himself! – the divine interpreter brings horrid orders through the air.”
(Word repetition or anaphora in Dido’s furious denunciation of the ever-changing excuses for Aeneas’s departure. Alternative translations: “First [it was] the augur Apollo, then the Lycian oracles, and now…” or “One moment it was the augur Apollo, the next the Lycian oracles, and now….”)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.376–378 - not comparableOf the state of affairs, the condition of the argument, etc., under these circumstances, in view of this
In the readers how our graded readers gloss it
now
nunc — in Seneca, ch. II
Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book
- nunc id quaeritur, agitur
- the question now is...
- res, de qua nunc quaerimus, quaeritur
- the question at issue.
- homines qui nunc sunt (opp. qui tunc fuerunt)
- our contemporaries; men of our time.
nunc, adv. Sanscr. nu, nūnam, now; Gr. νύ, νῦν; cf. Lat. num, with demonstr. -ce,
I. now, at present, at this time (prop of that which is present to the speaker or writer).
A. In gen.
1. Contrasted with past time (opp. tum, tunc, antea, quondam, aliquando, olim, etc.):
longe aliam, inquam, praebes nunc atque olim, Plaut. As. 1, 3, 53; Ter. Heaut. 2, 1, 4: alium esse censes nunc me atque olim, id. And. 3, 3, 13: omnia, quae sunt conclusa nunc artibus, dispersa quondam fuerunt, Cic. de Or 1, 42, 187: sed tu illum animum nunc adhibe, quaeso, quo me tum esse oportere censebas, id. Fam. 6, 1, 16; Ter. Ad. 1, 2, 24; Verg. A. 6, 776: sed erat tunc excusatio oppressis; nunc nulla est, Cic. Phil. 7, 5, 14; Liv. 4, 34, 6; 4, 25, 13: arx minus aliquanto nunc munita quam antea, Cic. Div. in Caecil. 5, 13: nunc si videtur, hoc; illud alias, id. Tusc. 1, 11, 23; Liv. 29, 18, 18; Suet. Tib. 29: aut nunc ... aut aliquando, Cic. Mil. 25, 67: ante hoc tempus numquam ... sed nunc, id. Ac. 1, 1, 3.—2. Contrasted with future time (opp. postea, mox, olim, etc.):
Cluentio nisi nunc satisfecero, postea satisfaciendi potestas non erit, Cic. Clu. 4, 10; Liv. 39, 19, 6: deos nunc testes esse, mox fore ultores, id. 3, 2, 4; 3, 25, 8: qui olim nominabitur, nunc intellegitur, Quint. 10, 1, 104; Verg. A. 4, 627; cf. Liv. 40, 15, 4.—3. Absol. of present time, without suggestion of contrast, = hodie, nostro tempore:
nunc tibi pater hic est, Plaut. Capt. 5, 4, 21: Marcellus, qui nunc aedilis curulis est, Cic. de Or. 1, 13, 57.— With the interrog. ne, in the form nun-cine (for num-ce-ne; ante-class.): hem, nuncin demum? Ter. And. 4, 1, 59.— B. Strengthened by demum, denique, primum (v. h. vv.):
nunc demum intellego, Plaut. Mil. 2, 6, 62; Ter. Heaut. 2, 3, 12: nunc demum rescribo his litteris, Cic. Att. 16, 3, 1: tantum accessit, ut mihi nunc denique amare videar, antea dilexisse, id. ib. 14, 17, A, 5; id. Fam. 9, 14, 11; Ov. A. A. 3, 121: nunc, quam rem oratum huc veni, primum proloquar, Plaut. Am. prol. 50; 2, 2, 63; 2, 2, 52: nunc primum hoc aures tuae crimen accipiunt? Cic. Verr. 2, 2, 8, § 24; 2, 2, 60, § 147: hoc quoque propter tuos ternos denarios nunc primum postulatur, id. ib. 2, 3, 25, § 63.—C. In special phrases.
1. Ut nunc est, as things now are, in the present state of affairs, as matters stand: constitui, ut nunc est, cum exercitu proficisci, Poll. ap. Cic. Fam. 9, 31, 17:
quae (causae) si manebunt ... et, ut nunc est, mansurae videntur, Cic. Att. 12, 29, 1: suaviter, ut nunc est, inquam, Hor. S. 1, 9, 5.— 2. Qui nunc sunt, the men of this time, those now living, the present age:
judiciis, qui nunc sunt. hominum, Cic. ad Q. Fr. 1, 1, 15, § 43; Plin. 22, 25, 71, § 147; cf.: tace stulta: non tu nunc hominum mores vides? of the men of this day, Plaut. Pers. 3, 1, 57.—3. Nunc ipsum, just now, at this very time:
quin nunc ipsum non dubitabo rem tantam abicere si id erit rectius, Cic. Att. 7, 3, 2; 8, 9, 2; 12, 40, 2: nunc tamen ipsum, id. ib. 12, 16, 11.—Nunc repeated with emphasis: nunc, nunc o liceat crudelem abrumpere vitam, Verg. A. 8, 579 (al. nunc o nunc); 5, 189: nunc, nunc adeste, nunc in hostiles domos Iram vertite, Hor. Epod. 5, 53.—II. Transf.
A. Of past or future time, conceived as present, now, at that time.
1. Of past time:
id adeo nos nunc factum invenimus, Plaut. Most. 2, 2, 46: item Menandri Phasma nunc nuper dedit (Gr. νῦν ἄρτι), Ter. Eun. prol. 9: nunc in causā refrixit, Cic. Planc. 23, 55: quos ego campos antea nitidissimos vidissem, hos ita vastatos nunc videbam, ut, etc., Cic. Verr. 2, 3, 18, § 47: nunc reus erat apud Crassum, id. Att. 2, 24, 4: cum eum antea tui similem in dicendo viderim, tum vero nunc ... multo videbam similiorem, id. Brut. 71, 250: incerto nunc etiam exitu victoriae signa intulerunt, Caes. B. G. 7, 62, 6; 6, 40, 6: nunc Saliaribus Ornare pul vinar deorum Tempus erat dapibus, Hor C. 1, 37, 2.—Esp. in orat. obliq., where the nunc of direct narration is retained: dixit, nunc demum se voti esse damnatum, Nep Timol. 5, 3; Liv. 3, 19, 8; 3, 40, 10; 8, 33, 18; 8, 34, 3; 42, 52, 8: nec nunc adulteria objecturum ait, Tac. A. 11, 30; cf. Nipperd. ad Tac. A. 14, 35; Krebs, Antibarb. p. 774. —2. Of future time (rare):
quis nunc te adibit? Cui videberis bella? Quem nunc amabis? Cat. 8, 16 sq.; Just. 8, 2, 10.—B. Of the state of affairs, the condition of the argument, etc., now, under these circumstances, in view of this.
1. In gen.:
nunc quoniam hominem generavit et ornavit deus, perspicuum sit, etc., Cic. Leg. 1, 9, 27; Prop. 4, 9, 73: vera igitur illa sunt nunc omnia, Cic. Ac. 2, 33, 106: non ego nunc vereor, ne sis mihi vilior istis, Prop. 1, 2, 25; Ov. F. 1, 333: nunc itaque et versus et cetera ludicra pono, Hor. Ep. 1, 1, 10: quid nunc? Plaut. As. 3, 3, 71; id. Aul. 2, 3, 77.—2. Introducing a fact or conclusion opposed to a previous supposition or thought:
etiamsi ad vos esset singulos aliquid ex hoc agro perventurum, tamen honestius eum vos universi quam singuli possideretis. Nunc vero cum ad nos nihil pertineat, etc., Cic. Agr. 2, 31, 85; id. Tusc. 3, 1, 2; id. Cat. 2, 7, 16; id. Font. 11, 24: si ecastor nunc habeas quod des, alia verba perhibeas; nunc quia nihil habes, maledictis te eam ductare postulas, Plaut. As. 1, 3, 36; id. Bacch. 3, 3, 8; Quint. 8, 6, 48; 10, 5, 7; Liv. 21, 40, 3: quodsi Mazaeus supervenisset, ingens clades accipi potuit: nunc, dum ille segnis in eo tumulo sedet, etc., Curt. 4, 12, 15.—C. Nunc ... nunc, now ... now; at one time, at another; sometimes ... sometimes:
tribuni plebis nunc fraudem, nunc neglegentiam consulum accusabant, Liv. 4, 2: nunc hac parte, nunc illā, id. 34, 13: ut nunc in liminibus starent, nunc errabundi domos suas pervagarentur, id. 1, 29: nunc hos, nunc illos aditus omnemque pererrat Arte locum, Verg. A. 5, 441; 5, 189: nunc huc, nunc illuc curro, Ov. H. 10, 19.—Also thrice repeated: nunc ad prima signa, nunc in medium, nunc in ultimo agmine aderat, Curt. 7, 3, 17; Just. 4, 1, 4; and even five times, Sen. Dial. 5 (Ira), 3, 6.—The first nunc is sometimes poetically omitted: pariterque sinistros, Nunc dextros solvere sinus, Verg. A. 5, 830.—b. Nunc ... mox, Vell. 2, 63.—
c. Nunc ... postremo, Liv. 3, 49.—
D. In forming a climax, but now, Plaut. Bacch. 3, 3, 8:
quae quidem multo plura evenirent, si ad quietem integri iremus: nunc onusti cibo et vino perturbata et confusa cernimus, Cic. Div. 1, 29, 60: si haec non ad cives Romanos, si non ad homines, verum ad bestias conqueri vellem, tamen tantā rerum atrocitate commoverentur. Nunc vero cum loquar apud senatores populi Romani, etc., Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 67, § 171: si ... nunc (vero), id. Font. 11, 25; id. Cat. 2, 7, 14; id. Fam. 15, 13, 3: cum aliquid videbatur caveri posse, tum id neglegi dolebam; nunc vero, eversis omnibus rebus, etc., id. ib. 6, 21, 1: cum ... nunc vero, Brut. ap. Cic. Fam. 11, 19, 1.—E. In a transition, to introduce a new subject, in that case, now, then: abi nunc, populi fidem implora, Auct. ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 32, 3; Sen. Ben. 5, 12, 3 sq.; 6, 35, 5; Plaut. Stich. 1, 3, 17; cf. Sall. J. 14, 17; for nunciam, v. jam, I. A. 1. b.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
nunc adv.
num+ce, of present time, now, at present, at this time : de quibus nunc quaerimus: nunc quae est, non quae olim fuit, T.: omnia, quae sunt conclusa nunc artibus, dispersa quondam fuerunt: sed erat tunc excusatio oppressis; nunc nulla est: arx minus aliquanto nunc munita quam antea: aut nunc . . . aut aliquando: Cluentio nisi nunc satisfecero, postea non erit, etc.: deos nunc testīs esse, mox fore ultores, L.: Nunc, olim, quocumque tempore, V.: nunc demum intellego, not till now , T.: ut mihi nunc denique amare videar, antea dilexisse: nunc primum, not until now : Nunc, nunc o liceat crudelem abrumpere vitam, V.: hem, nuncin demum? now at last? T.: quae (causae) si manebunt . . . et, ut nunc est, mansurae videntur, in the present state of affairs : Suaviter, ut nunc est, inquam, H.: iudiciis, qui nunc sunt, hominum, of contemporaries : nunc tamen ipsum, just now .—Of past or future time, conceived as present, now, at this time, then, at that time : Idem Menandri Phasma nunc nuper dedit, T.: nunc in causā refrixit: nunc reus erat apud Crassum: nunc Tempus erat, etc., H.: dixit, nunc demum se voti esse damnatum, N.—Of circumstances, now, under these circumstances, in view of this, as matters are : nunc quoniam hominem generavit et ornavit deus, perspicuum sit, etc.: vix nunc obsistitur illis, O.: si omnia manerent, tamen . . . nunc vero exul patriā, quo adcedam? S.: nec abnuitur ita fuisse, si . . . nunc haud sane, etc., but as matters are , L.: si haec non ad homines verum ad bestias conqueri vellem . . . nunc vero cum loquar apud senatores populi R., etc.— Repeated in parallel clauses, nunc . . . nunc, now . . . now, at one time, at another, sometimes . . . sometimes : facinora nunc in expeditionibus, nunc in acie, L.: Nunc hos, nunc illos aditūs pererrat, V.: nunc ad prima signa, nunc in medium, nunc in ultimo agmine aderat, Cu.; cf. pariterque sinistros, Nunc dextros solvere sinūs, V.: nunc . . . postremo, L.: nunc . . . modo, L.: modo . . . Nunc, O.
Origins
From num + -ce, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *nu (“now”), see also English now, Scots noo (“now”), Saterland Frisian nu (“now”), West Frisian no (“now”), Dutch nu, nou (“now”), German nu, nun (“now”), Swedish nu (“now”), Icelandic nú (“now”), Latin num (“even now, whether”), Albanian ni (“now”), Lithuanian nū̃n (“now”), Avestan 𐬥𐬏 (nū, “now”), Sanskrit नु (nu, “now”), Greek νυν (nyn, “now”), Russian ныне (nyne, “now”).