Etymologically
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accusativus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ak.kuː.saːˈtiː.wʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ak.ku.s̬aˈtiː.vus][1]

Forms

accūsātīvus (feminine accūsātīva, neuter accūsātīvum); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin accūsō (“to accuse”) + -īvus.[2][1] As a grammatical term it renders Ancient Greek αἰτιατική (aitiatikḗ);[1] Wiktionary calls it a mistaken calque, since the Greek word does not mean “relating to accusing” but “relating to an effect”.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Varro is its first author: in On the Latin Language he speaks of the case first as the cāsus accūsandī, then as the accūsātīvus.[3][2][4]

Semantic evolution

Priscian gives both names, accūsātīvus sīve causātīvus.[5] Quintilian uses the masculine on its own as a noun for the case, in a passage on the ambiguity that two accusatives can produce.[5][3] After him it is the regular term in all the grammarians, with or without cāsus.[3][5] Augustine plays on it, speaking to an opponent of the accusative case in which he has accused himself.[5]

Prepositions that take the accusative were called praepositiōnēs accūsātīvae;[5][3] Isidore of Seville explains that such prepositions are named after the cases they serve,[5][3] and Gregory of Tours mentions the fault of putting accusative prepositions before ablatives and the reverse.[5] English accusative came from it in the 15th century.[6]

Timeline

  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses cāsus accūsandī and accūsātīvus for the case.[3][2][4]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it as a noun.[5][2][4]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine plays on the case and the verb “accuse”.[5][4]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville explains the term “accusative prepositions”.[5][4]
  • mid-15th century – English accusative is taken from it, directly or through Anglo-French.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (grammar) Accusative (of the case); cāsus accūsātīvus, the accusative case.[2][3][1]
  2. (grammar, of prepositions) Taking the accusative.[3][5]

Noun

  1. (grammar) The accusative case.[5][2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com