-tas

Forms

-tās f (genitive -tātis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

The suffix is inherited from Proto-Italic *-tāts, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂ts.^[1] Fortson gives it as *-tāt-, probably from earlier *-teh₂-t-, a compound suffix making feminine abstracts.^[2] Weiss analyses it further as probably a t-stem derivative of an instrumental in *-teh₂-h₁.^[3]

Cognate with Ancient Greek -της (-tēs) (Doric -τᾱς (-tās)) and Sanskrit -ताति (-tāti).^[1][4] Compare the near-synonymous -tūs.^[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus already has bonitās “goodness”, from bonus, and dignitās “worthiness”, from dignus.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Most of these nouns are abstracts made from adjectives, as celeritās; a few come from nouns, as auctōritās and tempestās, from tempus “time”.^[4][3] The ending could also name a crop, as in olīvitās.^[4]

English -ity comes from its accusative -itātem through Middle English and Old French, and also directly from Latin.^[5] The -i- of that form belongs to the stem or else is a connective.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus has bonitās, dignitās and tempestās.^[3][6]
• 96–55 BC – Lucretius has iuventās “youth”.^[3][6]

Meanings

Suffix

1. Forms feminine abstract nouns of state or quality, usually from adjectives, like English -ty, -ness and -hood: celeritās, bonitās.^[4][1]
2. Occasionally from nouns: auctōritās, cīvitās.^[4][3]
3. Occasionally names a crop: olīvitās.^[4]

Word family

• celeritās
• auctōritās
• olīvitās
• bonitās
• cīvitās
• dignitās
• iuventās
• novitās
• tempestās
• lībertās
• facultās

Related words

• -tūs
• English -ity
• French -té

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Fortson, Benjamin W., IV (2010), Indo-European Language and Culture: An Introduction, 2nd ed., Malden, MA / Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell
3. ^ a b c d e f g Weiss, Michael (2020), Outline of the Historical and Comparative Grammar of Latin, 2nd ed., Ann Arbor: Beech Stave
4. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de