accidentalis

Forms

accidēntālis (neuter accidēntāle); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin accidēns (“a non-essential attribute”) + -ālis, made from the philosophers' noun for what happens to a thing without belonging to its nature.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first author is Marius Victorinus, who in his work on rhetoric opposes a thing that is substantial to one that is accidental.^[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin philosophy and theology it meant “belonging to the accidents, not to the essence”: a text cited under Augustine says that some names belong to God in himself and are substantial, others only in relation to us and are accidental,^[2][4] and Boethius, in his commentary on Porphyry, uses it and the adverb accidentāliter.^[2]

Scholastic writers used it constantly in this sense, and also for what is acquired or secondary rather than natural.^[5][6] In ordinary medieval use it came to mean “happening by chance, incidental”, as in a letter in the correspondence of Thomas Becket.^[7][8][6] Astrologers used it of a planetary house, and the neuter served as a noun for incidents and accidental circumstances.^[7] Italian accidentale comes from it,^[3] and English accidental, first “non-essential”, comes from it directly or through Old French.^[9]

Timeline

• first half of 4th century AD – Marius Victorinus opposes the accidental to the substantial.^[2][3][4]
• 354–430 AD – Köbler records it in Augustine.^[4][2]
• before 1162 – A letter in Becket's correspondence uses it of chance friends.^[7]
• 13th century – Albertus Magnus uses it in scholastic philosophy.^[5][4]
• c. 1290 – The law book Fleta uses it as a noun, “incidental matters”.^[7][4]
• late 14th century – English accidental is taken from it or from Old French.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (philosophy) Belonging to the accidents, not to the essence; non-essential.^[2][5][7]
2. (Medieval Latin) Acquired, secondary, not natural.^[5]
3. (Medieval Latin) Happening by chance, incidental, unforeseen.^[8][7][6]
4. (Medieval Latin, astrology) Of a planetary house: ruling.^[7]

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) An incident, an accidental circumstance.^[7]

Related words

• accidō¹
• English accidental

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b c Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com