in the Composition of ' Nouns and Adjectives. 73 



Summanus *," (Pluto, the god of night). Now, ve or vce is used 

 either adverbially, like the Latin parum or minus, answering to 

 the English affix less, or like the adjective parvus, small. As 

 Dius was the god of day, so Vedius, according to the first-men- 

 tioned power of ve, would signify the god of night, and corre- 

 spond both in office and name with the same mythological being 

 called by the Greeks AFidrig, the god of darkness, corrupted first 

 to h^ris, and lastly into c A&?s or Hades. 



Vejovis f , parum juvans, or parvus Jovis, either the not aid- 

 ing or the small Jupiter. 



Aulus Gellius, a Roman nobleman and scholar who lived 

 about the middle of the second century of the Christian era, 

 throws much light upon this word as well as the preceding. 

 " In ancient inscriptions we see the names of these gods, Dijovis 

 and Vejovis. Vejovis has even a temple between the arx and 

 the Capitol. The explanation of whose names I find to be this ; 

 the ancient Latins named Jove from juvando, and, by adding pa- 

 ter, formed the second name ; for Jupiter is formed by contract- 

 ing and changing certain letters, from the full and entire word 

 Jovispater. Thus combined, we have also Neptunuspater, and 

 Saturnuspater, and Marspater (for such is Marspiter) ; and Jovis 

 was also called Diespiter, i. e. father of day and light. Conse- 

 quently he was also called Dijovis and Lucetius, words of simi- 

 lar import, because he aided us, and bestowed upon us light and 

 day, our very life, as it were. As, therefore, they named Jovis 

 and Dijovis from juvando, they, on the other hand, called that 



* " Dium fulgur appellabant diurnum quod putabant Jovis, ut nocturnum Sum- 

 mani.'" — Under Dium, p. 227. 



f Jovis, from juvo, to aid (anciently Jovo, in composition Ju, Cimbric, Jou). 

 The Latin deities were originally male and female. Hence, from Dianus and Ja- 

 nus, Diana and Jana ; and, as rex, regis, makes regina, so the original female deity 

 of Jovis was first Jovina, shortened into Juno, on the same principle as Jovis be- 

 came Ju. 



VOL. XIII. PART I. K 



