From Urbane to Bon Vivant

I started to share words from a biography of Aaron Burr last week, but my research diverted me from the list by interesting etymology. So, let’s get back to the list.

Aaron was described in the book as being both a bon vivant and having great equanimity. And while Burr characterized President Monroe as being pusillanimous, others used the word to describe Burr.

What is equanimity? It is mental or emotional stability or composure, especially under tension or string. As Burr is described in the book, equanimity was his strongest trait. The word equanimity came to English about 1600, from the French word équanimité, which the French got from the Latin word aequanimitatem. The word, which means calmness, was formed from combining aequus, from which we get equal, with animus, which means mind or spirit and from which we directly take our word animus. Equanimity is a good word for a good trait.

Animus, on the other hand, is a good word for a bad trait. It is a strong dislike or a hostile attitude. (Except in Jungian psychology, where it refers to the presence of the masculine principle in women.) But the noun animus did not come to English until 1820.

Animus may seem like it would be related to animal as in “animalistic behavior”, but it’s not german, it’s more distantly related. Animal, which came to English in the early 1300s, came from a different Latin word: animale. Animale refers to any being which breathes, and came from the Latin word anima, which is related to animus, but not the root. Animus is more closely related to the word pusillanimous.

Pusillanimous comes from the Late Latin word pusillanimis. Pusillanimis was formed by combining animus and pusillus, which means very weak or little. So our word, which means lacking courage or cowardly, is pretty close to its Latin progenitor. It came to English in the late 1300s. It’s also a good word for a bad trait. 

Both animal and pusillanimous have interesting Christian church connections. The word animal, while used in the 1300s, was not commonly used until the 1600s, and consequently wasn’t used in the King James Version of the Bible. And when the translators of Greek biblical texts into Church Latin looked for a Latin word for the Greek oligopsychos, which means small-souled, they used pusillanimis.

Bon vivant are two good words for a trait that some consider good and some bad. It refers to a person who lives luxuriously and enjoys good food and drink. The literal translation of the French words is bon - good, vivant - living. It generally has a positive connotation, while voluptuarian has the negative connotation for the same characteristics, but is increasingly scurrilous in its usage (blame it on class warfare). It comes directly from the French, and came to English in the 1690s. Almost exclusively used of men, its female counterpart is bonne vivante. Bon-vivant can also be hyphenated.

All these are bon mots, as in quel est le bon mot. But bon mot