monition

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English monicioun,^[2][3][4][5] borrowed from Anglo-Norman monicion and Middle French monicion, monition,^[6] or directly borrowed from Latin monitiō (“advising, warning, admonition”),^[6][7][8][2] from monitus, the past participle of moneō (“to remind, advise, warn”).^[3][5][9] The Anglo-Norman noun is recorded from 1318–19 for a warning and an official notice of an obligation,^[10] and the French word is attested from the late 13th century.^[6] In medieval Latin the noun also meant a summons, a monitory letter and a formal admonition of the church.^[6] The Latin verb is a causative formation of the PIE root Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”), also the source of mind;^[7][5][3] Klein lists Old English manian (“to admonish”) and German mahnen among its cognates.^[5] The word is related to admonition, premonition and monitor.^[5][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Counsel or admonition, and a warning: about 1400, in the Book to a Mother.^[6][2] Barnhart and Etymonline also date it to about 1400.^[8][7]

Semantic evolution

From general instruction and warning the word passed into legal and church use: an official notice calling on someone to do something (about 1460), and then especially a formal notice from a bishop or church court telling a person to refrain from an offence (1509, in Barclay's Ship of Fools).^[6] The Middle French word took on this church sense in the 14th century.^[6] In maritime law a monition was a process like a summons that began a case for condemning a ship as a prize (1649).^[6] A further sense, a sign or intimation that something, now usually danger, is present or coming, is recorded from the 15th century.^[6][4] Johnson (1755) defined it as "information; hint" and "instruction; document".^[11] The general sense of instruction is now rare,^[6] and in 1883 the noun was also turned into a verb, to warn someone by a monition.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1400 – instruction or counsel; a warning or admonition.^[6][2]
• c. 1460 – an official or legal notice calling on someone to act.^[6]
• before 1475 – a sign or intimation of something present or impending; an omen.^[6]
• 1509 – in church law, a formal notice from a bishop or church court to desist.^[6]
• 1649 – in maritime law, a process beginning a case for condemning a ship as prize.^[6]
• 1883 – verb, to warn by a monition.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A warning or caution; an admonition.^[12][4][6]
2. A sign or indication of something, especially of a danger that is present or coming.^[4][6]
3. (law) A summons or order to appear and answer, as in a court case.^[4][6]
4. In the church, a formal notice from a bishop or ecclesiastical court telling a person to refrain from a specific offence.^[12][4][6]

Related words

• monish
• admonish
• admonition
• premonish
• premonition
• monitor
• mind

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
9. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
12. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins