quispiam

Latin

Etymology

Univerbation of quis +‎ -pe +‎ iam.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

quispiam or quīpiam (feminine quaepiam, neuter quidpiam or quippiam); relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion

  1. anybody, anything
  2. somebody, something

Declension

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  • The plural is very rare.
  • The feminine nominative singular quaepiam may be unattested in Classical Latin as a pronoun (it is found as an adjective; see below).

Adjective

quispiam (feminine quaepiam, neuter quodpiam); relative/interrogative pronoun with an indeclinable portion

  1. any
  2. some

Declension

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  • The plural is very rare.

Quotations
  • Marcus Tullius Cicero, in a letter at Varro. In: M. T. Ciceronis Epistolae ad Atticum, ad Quintum Fratrem, ad M. Brutum, et quae vulgo ad Familiares dicuntur, temporis ordine dispositae. Tomus IX. – M. Tullius Cicero's sämmtliche Briefe, übersetzt und erläutert von C. M. Wieland. Neunter Band, Wien und Triest, 1814, p. 232:
    Quamquam tum quidem vel aliae quaepiam rationes, honestas nobiset curas, et actiones darent: nunc autem quid est, sine his cur vivere velimus?
  • Apulejus Madaurensis, Florida. In: Apuleii opera omnia ex editione oudendorpiana, vol. II., London, 1825, p. 922:
    Satis, inquit, mihi fuerit mercedis, Thales sapiens,4 si id, quod a me didicisti, cum proferre ad quospiam coeperis, tibi non asciveris,5 sed ejus inventi me potius, quam alium, repertorem praedicaveris.6
    4 Post inquit voces Th. sapiens ponit Floridus. Id.—5 Abest non a Coll. Voss. Id.—6 Praedicaveris. Pith. praedicaris. Ed. Vic. praedicatis. Id.
    • The wise Thales replied, It will be a sufficient reward to me, if you do not publish what I have taught you as a discovery of your own, but fairly declare that I am the inventor. [1]
    • 'It is enough recompense,' replied Thales the wise, 'if you will refrain from claiming as your own the theory I have taught you, whenever you begin to impart it to others, and will proclaim me and no other as the discoverer of this new law.' [2]

See also
Latin correlatives (edit)
typedemonstrativeanaphoricidentityinterrogative/
relative		indefinitenegativeother
proximalmedialdistalrelativeindefinitefree choicenegative polarity
basic hiciste, isticille, illicisipse, īdemquis/quīquisquis, quīcumquequis, quī, quīdam, aliquis, aliquī, quisque, quispiamquīvis, quīlibetquisquam, ūllus, °aliquisquamnēmō, nihil, nūllusalter, alius
dual uterutercumquealteruter, uterqueutervīs, uterlibetneuter
place hīcistīcillīcibī̆ibī̆demubī̆ubiubi, ubī̆cumquealicubī, ubīque, uspiamubivīs, ubilibetusquamnusquam, nēcubialibī, aliās
source hincistincillincindeindidemundeundecumque, undeundealicunde, undique°undelibetnēcundealiunde
destination hūc, °hōrsumistūc, °istōrsumillūc, °illōrsumeōeōdemquō, quōrsumquōquō, quōcumquealiquō, quōpiam, °aliquōvorsumquōvīs, quōlibetquōquamaliō, aliōrsum
method,
means,
path,
place		 hācistācillāceāeādemquāquāquā, quācumquealiquā, quāquequāvīs, quālibetnēquāquam, haudquāquamaliā
manner hōc modōistō modōillō modōita, sīc,
eō modō		item, itidemut, quī, quō modō, quōmodo, quemadmodumutut, utcumque, quōmodocumqueutique, quī, quōdam modō, aliquō modōquōmodolibetūllō modōnūllō modōaliter, aliōquī, alterō/aliō modō
time num, nuncōlimtum, tuncsimulquandō, ‡cumcumque, quandōcumque, quandōquequondam, aliquandō, quandōquequandōlibetumquamnumquamaliās
quantity tam†tamen, †tandemquam†quamquamaliquamquamvīs
size tantustantusdemquantusquantuscumquealiquantusquantusvīs, quantuslibet
quality tālisquālisquālis, quāliscumquealiquālisquālislibet
number tottotidemquotquotquot, quotcumquealiquotquotlibet
order totusquotusquotuscumquequotuslibet
repetition totiēnsquotiēnsquotiēnscumquealiquotiēnsquotiēnslibet
multiplication totuplexquotuplex
† Turned conjunction with original meaning somewhat dissimulated
° Rare
‡only used as a conjunction, not as an interrogative

References
  1. The Dictionary Historical and Critical of Mr. Peter Bayle, 2nd edition, vol. V, S—Z, London, 1738, s.v. Tahles, p. 324. The Latin text is quoted as: "Satis, inquit, mihi fuerit mercedis, Thales sapiens, si id quod à me didicisti, cum proferre ad quospiam coeperis, tibi non adsciveris; sed ejus inventi me potius quam alium repertorem praedicaveris."
  2. H. E. Butler, The Apologia and Florida of Apuleius of Madaura, Oxford, 1909 (Project Gutenberg)

Further reading
  • “quispiam”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “quispiam”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • quispiam in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette
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