Latin

Etymology 1

    From ille (“that, yon”) + -ce (“here/there”), with apocope of final short -e. Compare istic, hic and hice.

    Pronunciation

    • (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ˈɪl.lɪk]
    • (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ˈil.lik]
    • (Classical Latin) IPA(key): [ɪlˈlɪk]
    • (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): [ilˈlik]
    • Forms such as illúnc and neuter nom/acc illúc are accented on the final syllable, matching the position of the accent in illúnce and illúcce (from illud + -ce; compare neuter nom/acc hoc from *hod + -ce). The reduction of -ce to -c by apocope generally left the accent unchanged.
    • The accentuation of the masculine nominative singular illic(e) is uncertain. Late Latin grammarians teach that the enclitics -ce, -que, -ve, -ne draw the accent to the preceding syllable whether it is long or short, which would imply the accentuation illíc(e), but some modern linguists argue that these enclitics only moved the accent to a heavy syllable, which would imply the accentuation íllic(e). The similarly-formed masculine nominative singular hic acquired an analogically lengthened final consonant in Classical and later time periods: if such analogical lengthening ever affected illic, the accent would be expected to move also to its final syllable (illíc as if for *illicce).
    • In Plautus, the first syllable is sometimes shortened after a preceding short monosyllabic word (brevis brevians); furthermore, even outside of that context, it appears that the form illic is sometimes scanned with the value of either a single long syllable, or two short syllables standing for a long by resolution.

    Pronoun

    illic (feminine illaec, neuter illuc or illucce or illoc); demonstrative pronoun

    1. yon, that, that over there (3rd person demonstrative pronoun of distance)
    Usage notes
    • According to Breunesse 2026, demonstratives marked with the enclitic -c(e) tend to have a "situational" or "exophoric" function, pointing out a new referent that is present at the moment of speech. In contrast, -c(e) tends to be omitted when demonstratives are used with a "recognitional" function, pointing to a referent that the listener is assumed to remember.[1]
    Declension

    Demonstrative pronoun.

    singular plural
    masculine feminine neuter masculine feminine neuter
    nominative illic illaec illuc
    illucce
    illoc
    illīsce illaec
    genitive illī̆usce *illōrunc *illārunc *illōrunc
    dative illīc illīsce
    accusative illunc illanc illuc
    illucce
    illoc
    illōsce illāsce illaec
    ablative illōc illāc illōc illīsce
    vocative — —
    • These 'reinforced' forms of ille were used particularly in Early Latin authors such as Plautus.[2] The forms seen in this context include the nominatives (illic / illaec / illuc), the accusative singulars (illunc / illanc, attested alongside unreinforced illum / illam), and the ablative singulars (illōc / illāc). Forms ending in -ce seem to have belonged to a more archaic period,[2] though note that phonotactic restrictions would prevent final -sce from being contracted to **-sc. The genitive singular illīusce appears in an old ritual transmitted by Cato; the dative/ablative plural illīsce is attested in Cato, and also (before vowels only[3]) in Plautus; the masculine accusative plural illōsce and feminine accusative plural illāsce are attested by Manius Manilius and Varro. Note also that illucce (illud + -ce) is attested for the neuter nominative singular, and influence from hoc also lead to illoc. The genitive plural is not attested, but the analogous forms would be *illōrunc / *illārunc (from unreinforced illōrum / illārum + -ce).
    • Based in part on hypotheses about the role of accent in Old Latin comic meter, W. M. Lindsay argues that for Plautus, both illī and illīc could be used either as a dative demonstrative pronoun or as an adverb.[4] However, extant manuscripts of Plautus's plays largely adhere to the norm of using illī for the dative demonstrative and illīc for the adverb (as in Classical Latin), which Lindsay assumes is the result of scribes altering the original spelling.[5][6] Cases where the form illī was originally used for the adverb can be securely determined in some circumstances where the meter requires elision (as in Plautus Menaechmi 308[7] or Plautus Captivi 278[5]); cases where the form illīc was originally used for the dative pronoun are harder to confirm, since it can be difficult to rule out the alternative option of hiatus after illī.
    Derived terms

    Etymology 2

      From the lost locative neuter singular of the above pronoun, compare hīc and istīc.

      Pronunciation

      Adverb

      illīc (not comparable)

      1. in that place, yonder, there
        Synonyms: ibi, eō
      Descendants

      References

      1. ^ Breunesse, M. R. (2026), “Chapter 5 Formal Differences”, in Demonstrative Reference in Plautus, Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, →DOI
      2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Adams, J. N. (2013), Social Variation and the Latin Language, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, →DOI, →ISBN, pages 454–459
      3. ^ Lindsay, W. M. (1894), The Latin Language, page 436
      4. ^ Lindsay, W. M. (1892), “Skutch's Studies on Plautine Prosody”, in The Classical Review, volume 6, page 404
      5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lindsay, W. M. (1894), The Latin Language, page 567
      6. ^ Lindsay, W. M. (1894), “The Accentual Element in Early Latin Verse”, in Transactions of the Philological Society, volume 29, page 421
      7. ^ Knight, Clara M. (1919), Menaechmi, page 83

      Further reading

      • “illic” in volume 7, part 1, column 370, line 10 in the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae (TLL Open Access), Berlin (formerly Leipzig): De Gruyter (formerly Teubner), 1900–present
      • “illic”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
      • “illic”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
      • “illic”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
      • Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar for schools and colleges founded on comparative grammar, 1903, page 67.