conjunction
quoniam
quoniam (+ ind)
Classical[ˈkʷɔ.ni.ãː]Ecclesiastical[ˈkʷɔː.ni.am]
№ 510 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- since, forasmuch, inasmuch as, now that
4th century, St Jerome, Vulgate, Tobit 2:18
For we are the children of saints, and look for that life which God will give to those that never change their faith from him.
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
quŏn-ĭam, adv. quom = cum, and jam,
I. since now, since then, since, seeing that, because, whereas (quoniam gives a ground or reason, quod and quia give the determining cause or reason).
I. With indic., stating a fact: quoniam significat non solum id quod quia, sed etiam id quod postquam, hac scilicet de causā, quod Graeci ἐπεί, utriusque significationem obtinet, Fest. p. 261 Müll.:
quoniam ambo nos delusistis, Plaut. As. 3, 3, 121; id. Aul. prol. 9: quoniam quidem circumventus inimicis praeceps agor, Sall. C 31, 9; id. J. 85, 44; 31, 21: quoniam ad hunc locum perventum est, Caes. B. G. 6, 11; 7, 50: quam me stultitiam (quoniam non est genus unum) Insanire putas? Hor. S. 2, 3, 301: quoniam ita tu vis, Cic. Planc. 33, 82: quapropter, quoniam res in id discrimen adducta est, id. Phil. 3, 11, 29; Verg. E. 2, 55.— II. With subj. (introducing a reason conceived by the mind, or given by another person):
quoniam civitati consulere non possent, Caes. B. G. 5, 3; 1, 35; 6, 1: quoniam magna sequatur ubertas, Plin. 11, 14, 14, § 34; so Nep. Milt. 7, 5; id. Eum. 9, 6: quoniam tam propinqua sint castra, id. ib. 6, 40; 7, 72; Caes. B. C. 1, 72.— III. Introducing an obj.-clause (post-class.), that:
videtis quoniam et vos hoc facere videtis, Cypr. Ep. 8, 3; Tert. Idol. 22: non advertit, quoniam, etc., Cael. Aur. Tard. 3, 8, 100; 2, 8, 53: negat quoniam Jesus non est Christus, Vulg. 1 Joan. 2, 22; cf. v. 19; id. 1 Cor. 6, 15.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
quoniam adv.
quom+iam, since now, since then, since, seeing that, as, because, whereas : quoniam quidem circumventus ab inimicis praeceps agor, S.: quoniam ad hunc locum perventum est, Cs.: quoniam iam nox est: quoniam ita tu vis: quoniamque ab his es auditus: quoniam quidem missus est: quoniam intellegere potuisset: quoniam tam propinqua sint castra, N.
Origins
Univerbation of quom + iam. The term is possibly another example of a possible Proto-Italic sound law *-mj- > *-nj-, which is also evidenced by veniō (“to come”) (< *gʷm̥yéti), though Fortson counters that this conjunction is not necessarily ancient. Weiss suggests that the phonological developments precipitating this term are alternatively explainable by a labial dissimilation.
Descendants
- Catalanquòniam