quirquir

== Latin == === Etymology === Probably an emphatic reduplication of *quir (“where”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷís (“who, what”) +‎ *-r (adverbial suffix), similar in construction to quisquis (“whoever, whatever”). Compare to the etymology of cūr (“why”). === Pronunciation === (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈkʷɪr.kʷɪr] (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈkʷir.kʷir] === Adverb === quirquir (not comparable) The meaning of this term is uncertain. Possibilities include: Some type of emphatic interrogative or relative adverb, probably meaning “wherever”. ==== Usage notes ==== This term appears only in a difficult-to-translate augural formula cited in Marcus Terentius Varro, De lingua latina 7.8: templa tescaque m(eae) fines ita sunto quoad ego easte lingua nuncupavero ollaner arbos quirquir est quam me sentio dixisse templum tescumque m(ea) f(inis) esto in sinistrum ollaber arbos quirquir est quod me sentio dixisse templum tescumque m(ea) f(inis) esto ⟨in⟩ dextrum inter ea conregione conspicione cortumione utique eas rectissime sensi. === References === “?quirquir” on page 1716/3 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (2nd ed., 2012) “quirquir”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.