Martinus

Forms

Mārtīnus m (genitive Mārtīnī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin Mārs + -īnus, from the stem ⟨Mārt-⟩ of the god's name.^[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gaffiot records several bearers of the name in Sulpicius Severus.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

Jordanes names a general of Justinian's called Martinus.^[3] Etymonline notes that 17th-century writers said the bird called a martin was named after St Martin of Tours (died 397), patron saint of France, whose feast, Martinmas, falls on 11 November.^[2] Medieval jurists called someone who clung stubbornly to his own opinion a Martinus, after the celebrated jurist Martinus under Frederick I, as Baronius reports;^[5] Martinus bullians was the summer feast of St Martin.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 363–c. 420 AD – Sulpicius Severus names men called Martinus.^[3][4]
• 6th century AD – Jordanes names a general of Justinian's.^[3][4]
• 1580s – English martin, a swallow-like bird, is borrowed from Old French, apparently from the personal name.^[2]

Meanings

Proper noun

1. A male given name, equivalent to Martin.^[1][2]
2. (Medieval Latin) A person who holds stubbornly to his own opinion.^[5]

Related words

• Mārtius
• Mārtiālis
• English Martin

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre