actum

Forms

actum n (genitive actī); second declension; usually plural, acta^[1]

Etymology

It is the neuter of āctus, the perfect passive participle of agō (“to do, drive”), used as a noun: “a thing done”.^[1][2] De Vaan traces ⟨agō⟩ to Proto-Italic *ag-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-e/o- (“to drive, lead”), cognate with Oscan acum (“to act”) and Ancient Greek ἄγω (ágō, “to lead”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Cicero.^[4] In De oratore he says that in great matters one looks first for plans, then acts (ācta), then outcomes.^[1]

Semantic evolution

The plural ācta are acts, deeds and transactions, and great exploits, as the labours of Hercules;^[1] Sallust's soldiers tell one another of their deeds.^[1] In public life they are the official acts and decrees of a magistrate or ruler: Cicero argued that ācta Caesaris, Caesar's acts, should be upheld.^[1] They are also written records, especially the official gazette of the business of the senate and people, which Cicero waited to receive.^[1]

Church Latin glosses ācta “things done, acts, records of a process, register of public acts”.^[5] Medieval sources from Aldhelm on use it.^[4] English act comes from āctum, at first a legal term, as well as from āctus.^[2]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero of deeds, of Caesar's acts and of the gazette.^[1][4]
• 86–34 BC – Sallust of soldiers' exploits.^[1][4]
• 639–709 AD – Aldhelm.^[4]
• late 14th century – English act “a thing done”.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (usually plural) An act, deed, transaction; exploits.^[1][6][5]
2. Official acts, decrees, enactments.^[1][5]
3. A written record; the official gazette.^[1][5]

Related words

• agō
• āctus
• āctiō
• English act

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
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 Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
6. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org