dolus — Logoi (Latin)

Where it lives

Pro M. Tullio 27 · 78.58/10k
De Regibus 1 · 22.57/10k
Historiae 4 · 9.86/10k
Hannibal 2 · 9.78/10k
Captivi 8 · 9.24/10k
Pseudolus 10 · 9.04/10k
Agamemnon 5 · 8.99/10k
Troades 6 · 8.81/10k
Achilleis 6 · 8.33/10k
Miles Gloriosus 10 · 7.89/10k
Octavia 4 · 7.65/10k
Phoenissae 3 · 7.34/10k

Densest 12 of 136 attested works shown, by occurrences per 10,000 attested tokens.

What it meant

1. dolus — de Vaan

dolus 'unlawful intention, malice' [m. o] (Lex XII+) Derivatives: doWsus 'sly, deceitful* (P1.+); subdolus 'id/ (PL+); sedulo 'sincerely; diligently' (PL+\ sedulitas 'painstaking attention' (Varro+). Pit, *dolo- 'trick'. It. cognates: 0. dolom, dolum [acc.sg.], dolud [abl.sg.] 'intention, ruse\ Probably a loanword from Latin. PIE *do!hro- [m.] 'pain'? IE cognates: Gr. δόλος 'bait;trick', OIc. to/ [n.] 'account, … — [de Vaan, s.v. dolus, p. 191]

2. dŏlus — Lewis & Short

dŏlus, i, m.Sanscr. dal-bhas, deceit; Gr. do/los, cunning, de/lear, bait. Orig.,

I a device, artifice; hence, evil intent, wrongdoing with a view to the consequences (opp. culpa, negligence; cf. also: fallacia, fraus, astutia, calliditas).—In the older, and esp. the jurid. lang.: dolus malus, a standing expression for guile, fraud, deceit: doli vocabulum nunc tantum in malis utimur, apud antiquos etiam in bonis rebus utebatur. Unde adhuc dicimus Sine dolo malo, nimirum quia solebat dici et bonus, Paul. ex Fest. p. 69, 10 Müll.: in quibus ipsis (formulis) cum ex eo (sc. Aquillio) quaereretur, quid esset dolus malus? respondebat; cum esset aliud simulatum, aliud actum, Cic. Off. 3, 14, 60; cf. id. Top. 9 fin.; and id. N. D. 3, 30: Labeo sic definit: Dolum malum esse omnem calliditatem, fallaciam, machinationem ad circumveniendum, fallendum, decipiendum alterum adhibitam, Dig. 4, 3, 1; so, dolus malus, acc. to Cic. Off. 3, 15, 61; 3, 24; id. Fl. 30, 74; id. Att. 1, 1, 3: dolo malo instipulari, Plaut. Rud. 5, 3, 25; in a pub. law formula in Liv. 1, 24 fin.; and 38, 11; Ter. Eun. 3, 3, 9 Don.; Dig. 4, 3 tit.: de dolo malo, and ib. 44, 4 tit.: de doli mali et metus exceptione, et saep.; opp. culpa, Cod. 5, 40, 9.—Far more freq. and class. (but rarely in Cic.),

II Without malus, guile, deceit, deception: haud dicam dolo, Plaut. Trin. 1, 2, 53: non dolo dicam tibi, id. ib. 2, 4, 79; id. Men. 2, 1, 3; ita omnes meos dolos, fallacias, Praestigias praestrinxit commoditas patris, Poëta ap. Cic. N. D. 3, 29, 73; cf.: huic quia bonae artes desunt, dolis atque fallaciis contendit, Sall. C. 11, 2: aliquem ductare dolis, Plaut. Capt. 3, 4, 109: consuere, id. Am. 1, 1, 211: versare, Verg. A. 2, 62: nectere, Liv. 27, 28 init. et saep.: nam doli non doli sunt, nisi astu colas, Plaut. Capt. 2, 1, 30; so with astu, Suet. Tib. 65; Verg. A. 11, 704; cf. with astutia, Sall. C. 26, 2: per sycophantiam atque per doctos dolos, Plaut. Ps. 1, 5, 70; cf. ib. 113: per dolum atque insidias, Caes. B. G. 4, 13, 1; and with this last cf.: magis virtute quam dolo contendere, aut insidiis niti, id. ib. 1, 13, 6.—Prov.: dolo pugnandum est, dum quis par non est armis, Nep. Hann. 10: tempus atque occasionem fraudis ac doli quaerere, Caes. B. C. 2, 14, 1; so with fraus, Liv. 1, 53: consilio etiam additus dolus, id. 1, 11: per dolum ac proditionem, id. 2, 3: dolis instructus et arte Pelasgā, Verg. A. 2, 152 et saep.: subterranei = cuniculi, Flor. 1, 12, 9: volpis, Lucr. 3, 742; cf. id. 5, 858 and 863; Vulg. Matt. 26, 4 et saep.—

III Transf., the means or instrument of deceit: dolos saltu deludit, i. e. the nets, Ov. Hal. 25: subterraneis dolis peractum urbis excidium, Flor. 1, 12, 9.—Dolus, as a deity, Val. Fl. 2, 205: superavit dolum Trojanum, Dolon, Plaut. Ps. 4, 7, 142.—

B = culpa: dolo factum suo, by his own fault, Hor. S. 1, 6, 90.

3. dolus — Walde–Hofmann

dolus, -; m. (seit Itala auch dolum n. und — wegen dolus ,dolor* — auch dolor, -oris) „List, Täuschung“ (seit Lex reg., dolösus „ränkevoll“ und subdolus ,heimtückisch* seit Plaut.; s. auch sedulo): = 0. dolom (mallom) ,dolum (malum)*, dolud (mallud) ,dolo (malo)* Ma se dolö malö [s. sedulo; daraus Lehnübers. gr. bó «ovnpiüj], Schrijnen Neoph. 13, 131), gr. bóAoc m. „List“, auch „Köder, Lockspeise* (bolóew „listig“ … — [Walde–Hofmann, s.v. dolus, p. 398]

In the wild

dolis Apuleius, Metamorphoses 7.20
dolos Pliny the Younger, Letters 7.4.5b
dolos Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 2.567
dolo Historia Augusta, Severus 5
dolos Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica 8.410
dolis Claudian, Panegyricus de sexto consulatu Honorii Augusti 1.383

6 of 506 attestations shown.

Where it came from

de Vaan, Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Brill 2008) Treated in de Vaan, Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Brill 2008) s.v. dolus (scan p. 191; entry #445). Root candidates: *dolo-.
Ernout-Meillet, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue latine Treated in Ernout-Meillet, Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue latine s.v. dolus (scan p. 206; entry #3201).
Walde-Hofmann, Lateinisches etymologisches Worterbuch Treated in Walde-Hofmann, Lateinisches etymologisches Worterbuch s.v. dolus (scan pp. 398-399; entry #950). Root candidates: *talaz-, *dIn-, *del-.