adverb
tamen
tamen (not comparable)
Classical[ˈta.mɛn]Ecclesiastical[ˈtaː.men]
№ 58 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- not comparablepostpositionalusuallyhowever, in spite of this
- not comparablepostpositionalusuallyhowever, in spite of this
ac tamen...
and yet...ex duobus librīs contulī in quattuor: grandiōrēs sunt omnīnō quam erant illī, sed tamen multa dētracta
from two books have I arranged four: they are ampler, in every way, than what used to be in that one [the previous arrangement], and yet many [were] withdrawn106 BCE – 43 BCE, Cicero, Atticus 13 - not comparablenevertheless, yet, still, even
Simo: Nihil audiō! Ego iam tē commōtum reddam! Davus: Tamen etsī hoc vērum·st?
Simo: I'm not listening! Your heart strings are about to get a real good tugging! [literally, “I'm about to make you greatly moved!”] Davus: Even if it's true? Simo: Even so!166 BCE, Publius Terentius Afer, Andria 864 - not comparableall the same, just the same (in spite of appearances of the contrary)
[…]vīginti minās, quae nūsquam nunc sunt gentium, inveniam tamen.
[…] those twenty mines, which are currently nowhere to be found, I'll find them all the same.c. 191 BCE, Plautus, Pseudolus 405 - not comparablealthough, even if
- not comparable(also with ut or ne) at least
In the readers how our graded readers gloss it
still, even so
tamen — in Seneca, ch. IV
tămen, adv. perh. from tam and en, Corss. Ausspr. 1, 842; but cf. Rib. Lat. Part. p. 27 sqq.,
I. notwithstanding, nevertheless, for all that, however, yet, still, etc.
I. In gen.
A. With a corresp. concessive or conditional particle (quamquam, quamvis, etsi, etiamsi, tametsi, licet, si, ut, cum, etc.; tamen stands at the beginning of the clause or after a prominent word; cf.: certe, nihilo minus).
1. With quamquam:
verumtamen, quamquam abest a culpā, suspitione tamen non caret, Cic. Rosc. Am. 20, 55: quamquam me vester honos vigilare jubet, tamen, etc., id. Agr. 2, 28, 77; id. Imp. Pomp. 1, 1; 12, 34; id. Cat. 2, 9, 19; 3, 12, 29.—2. With quamvis:
quamvis sit magna (exspectatio), tamen eam vinces, Cic. Rep. 1, 23, 37.—3. With etsi:
etsi abest maturitas aetatis, jam tamen, etc., Cic. Fam. 6, 18, 4; cf.: sed tamen etsi omnium causā, quos commendo, velle debeo, tamen, etc., id. ib. 13, 71.—4. With tametsi:
tametsi miserum est, tamen, etc., Cic. Rosc. Am. 20, 55: tametsi ille venerit, tamen, id. Imp. Pomp. 5, 13; 17, 51; Sall. C. 3, 2; Caes. B. G. 1, 30; 7, 43, and v. tametsi, II.—5. With etiam si:
etiamsi natura abripuit, virtus tamen, etc., Cic. Rep. 1, 16, 25; id. Caecin. 21, 59; id. Div. 2, 64, 131: etiam si ab hoste defendant, tamen, id. Imp. Pomp. 5, 13.—6. With licet:
licet tibi significarim, ut ad me venires: tamen intellego, etc., Cic. Att. 3, 12, 3.—7. With ut:
equidem, ut verum esset ... tamen arbitrarer, etc., Cic. Rep. 1, 6, 11.—8. With si:
si taceo, interii tamen, Plaut. Mil. 2, 3, 36: si Massilienses per delectos cives ... reguntur, inest tamen in eā conditione, etc., Cic. Rep. 1, 27, 43: si ipsa minus honestas, contumelia tamen, etc., id. Part. Or. 26, 92: si omnes deos hominesque celare possimus, nihil tamen, etc., id. Off. 3, 8 fin.; id. Imp. Pomp. 17, 50; id. Cat. 3, 3, 7: si nullus erit pulvis, tamen excute nullum, Ov. A. A. 1, 151; Curt. 5, 8, 15; 7, 5, 42.—9. With cum:
cum ea consecutus nondum eram ... tamen, etc., Cic. Fam. 3, 7, 5; id. Rep. 1, 10, 16: cui (senatus auctoritati) cum Cato et Caninius intercessissent, tamen est perscripta, id. Fam. 1, 2, 4.—B. Without correl. particle:
retraham ad me illud argentum tamen, Ter. Heaut. 4, 2, 11: Divitiacus dixit, scire se illa esse vera; sese tamen amore fraterno commoveri, Caes. B. G. 1, 20: expellitur ex oppido Gergoviā; non destitit tamen, id. ib. 7, 4: equites conflixerunt, tamen ut nostri superiores fuerint, id. ib. 5, 15: propterea quod reliquis tamen fugae facultas daretur, Sequanis vero, etc., at least, id. ib. 1, 32; so, neque recordatur illi ipsi tam infelici imperatori patuisse tamen portus Africae, Liv. 28, 43, 17: quo, defendente nullo, tamen armatis adscendere esset difficile, Hirt. B. G. 8, 33; Sall. C. 20, 12; Curt. 4, 4, 21; 4, 6, 28: semper Ajax fortis, fortissimus tamen in furore, Cic. Tusc. 4, 23, 52: qui plusque fore dicant in pluribus consilii quam in uno, et eandem tamen aequitatem, id. Rep. 1, 35, 55: id ipsum tam mite ac tam moderatum imperium tamen, quia unius esset, deponere eum in animo habuisse quidam auctores sunt, Liv. 1, 48, 9: et Philippus minime, quin rebellandum esset, dubius, quia tamen inmaturae ad id vires erant, ad moram, etc., id. 39, 35, 2 Weissenb. (dub.): haec e pectoribus altis et eruditis orta sunt; illud tamen non minus admirabile, quod servilis animus cepit, Val. Max. 3, 3, 7.—Emphat., beginning a sentence: tamen contemptus abs te, haec habui in memoriā, Ter. Eun. 1, 2, 90: tamen aliquid nullius est ... tanta copia quae enarrare tuas res gestas possit. Tamen adfirmo, etc., Cic. Marcell. 2, 4; Liv. 21, 55, 10.—II. Esp.
A. With sed, in transitions, in resuming the thought after a parenthesis, or in limiting or correcting something already said, or some inference from it, but yet, but nevertheless, but still:
hi non sunt permolesti: sed tamen insident et urgent, Cic. Att. 1, 18, 2: sed tamen velim scire, etc., id. Rep. 1, 30, 46: difficile factu est, sed conabor tamen, id. ib. 1, 43, 66: ipse ad me non venisset ... sed tamen, id. Fam. 4, 3, 1: quicquid arte fieri potuerit—non enim jam satis est consilio pugnare ... —sed tamen quicquid elaborari aut effici potuerit, id. ib. 9, 16, 2: non perfectum illud quidem, sed tolerabile tamen, id. Rep. 1, 26, 42; id. Imp. Pomp. 4, 10; 17, 52; id. Cat. 2, 9, 20; 4, 5, 9: gravi morbo est inplicitus. Sed animo tamen aegrum magis quam corpore, etc., Liv. 40, 56, 9; Curt. 4, 4, 12; Sen. Q. N. 6, 16, 3; cf. also verumtamen. — B. Si tamen, if at least, if only, = si modo:
aliqua et mihi gratia ponto est: Si tamen in medio quondam concreta profundo Spuma fui, Ov. M. 4, 537; so id. Tr. 3, 14, 24: si tamen illi (amici) non gravantur, Plin. Ep. 3, 1, 4; 6, 21, 6 et saep.—2. Ellipt. (very rare): utilissimo quidem exemplo;
si tamen acta excellentissimorum virorum humiliter aestimare ... permittitur ( = ita tamen utilissimo, si, etc.), Val. Max. 2, 7, 14.—C. In an interrogation:
si quinque hominum milibus ad vim, facinus caedemque delectis locus quaeritur, tamenne patiemini vestro nomine contra vos firmari opes? in spite of this, notwithstanding this, Cic. Agr. 2, 28, 77; so. si ... tamenne? id. Fl. 10, 21; id. Font. 7, 16 (3, 6); id. Dom. 19, 50.—Without ne: cur nolint, etiam si tacerent, satis dicunt. Verum non tacent. Tamen his invitissimis te offers? Cic. Div. in Caecil. 6, 21: —Quare tamen per plures dies motus fuit? yet why, etc., Sen. Q. N. 6, 31, 1; so even at the beginning of a letter: tamen a malitiā non discedis? and yet, Cic. Fam. 9, 19, 1.—D. Ac tamen, and yet, and that although: admirabile est quantum inter omnis unus excellat;
ac tamen, cum esset Demosthenes, multi oratores fuerunt, etc., Cic. Or. 2, 6; 8, 26; id. Sest. 54, 115: quantus iste est hominum error! Ac tamen facile patior, etc., id. Rep. 2, 15, 29; cf.: atque is tamen aliquis Ligarius non fuit, yet not even, id. Lig. 7, 22.—E. Neque ... nec tamen, nor, on the other hand, and yet not:
Cyri vitam legunt, praeclaram illam quidem, sed neque tam nostris rebus aptam nec tamen Scauri laudibus anteponendam, Cic. Brut. 29, 112.—F. Ne tamen, that by no means:
veni igitur, quaeso, ne tamen semen urbanitatis unā cum re publicā intereat, Cic. Fam. 7, 31, 2.—G. With rel. pron.: qui tamen, etc., who however, although he (she, it, they, etc.):
L. Lucullus, qui tamen eis incommodis mederi fortasse potuisset, ... partem militum Glabrioni tradidit, Cic. Imp. Pomp. 9, 26: ut possint eam vitam, quae tamen esset reddenda naturae, pro patriā potissimum reddere, id. Rep. 1, 3, 5: perturbat me etiam illud interdum, quod tamen, cum te penitus recognovi, timere desino, id. Deiot. 2, 4; id. Cat. 4, 11, 23: fuit mirificus in Crasso pudor, qui tamen non modo obesset ejus orationi, sed etiam prodesset, and yet its effect was, etc., id. de Or. 1, 26, 122: si vetustum verbum sit, quod tamen consuetudo ferre possit, id. ib. 3, 43, 170.—Qui tamen sometimes introduces a paranthetical concession: alter, qui tamen se continuerat, senserat tantum aliud atque homines exspectabant, Cic. Sest. 53, 114 (v. Fischer, Gram. p. 573, 5).— H. Strengthened by nihilominus:
etsi verum judicabant, tamen nihilominus, etc., Cic. Clu. 28, 76: tamen nihilominus Αἰὲν ἀριστεύειν, etc., id. Fam. 13, 15, 2.?*! For tam = tamen, v. tam, IV.Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
tamen adv.
3 TA-.—After a concessive or conditional particle, notwithstanding, nevertheless, for all that, however, yet, still (beginning the clause or after its emphatic word): quamquam omnis virtus nos ad se adlicet, tamen iustitia id maxime efficit: etsi abest maturitas aetatis, tamen, etc.: tametsi miserum est, tamen, etc.: si Massilienses per delectos cives . . . reguntur, inest tamen in eā conditione similitudo quaedam servitutis: si nullus erit pulvis, tamen excute nullum, O.: cui (senatus auctoritati) cum Cato et Caninius intercessissent, tamen est perscripta.—Opposed to an implied concession or inference, in spite of this, for all that, however, still, nevertheless : Retraham ad me illud argentum tamen, T.: expellitur ex oppido Gergoviā; non destitit tamen, Cs.: neque recordatur illi ipsi tam infelici imperatori patuisse tamen portūs Africae, L.: semper Aiax fortis, fortissimus tamen in furore: cur nolint, etiam si tacerent, satis dicunt. Verum non tacent. Tamen his invitissimis te offeres?: tamen a malitiā non discedis? in spite of all .—With sed or verum , in strong opposition, but yet, but nevertheless, but still : hi non sunt permolesti; sed tamen insident et urgent: debet; verum tamen non cogitur.—With si, if at least, if only : aliqua et mihi gratia ponto est; Si tamen in dio quondam concreta profundo Spuma fui, O.—After neque . . . nec, on the other hand, however : Cyri vitam legunt, praeclaram illam quidem, sed neque tam nostris rebus aptam nec tamen Scauri laudibus anteponendam.—Ne tamen, that by no means : veni igitur, quaeso, ne tamen semen urbanitatis unā cum re p. intereat. —With pron relat., who however, although he : L. Lucullus, qui tamen eis incommodis mederi fortasse potuisset . . . partem militum Glabrioni tradidit, although he might , etc.: fuit mirificus in Crasso pudor, qui tamen non obesset eius orationi, etc., and yet its effect was not , etc.—Strengthened by nihilo minus : si illud tenerent, se quoque id retenturum; nihilo minus tamen agi posse de compositione, Cs.
Origins
From tam + -em. Last particle in īdem. Compare with its later doublet: tandem, both with original meaning supposedly "so(much)ever".
Descendants
- Sardiniantàmen
- Sardiniantàmes
- Italiantame
- Esperantotamen
- Idotamen
- Interlinguatamen