adiectivus

Forms

adiectīvus (feminine adiectīva, neuter adiectīvum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin adiciō (“to add, attach”) + -īvus, on the stem of the past participle adiectus,^[1][2] as a calque of Ancient Greek ἐπιθετικός (epithetikós).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in the grammarian Charisius (about AD 362), who says that the prefix in- sometimes adds force, as in inpotens “very powerful”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Priscian used it of qualities and expressions added to a noun, and the neuter nomen adiectivum, or adiectivum alone, became the name of the adjective as opposed to the substantive.^[2][4][5] Macrobius already has the neuter noun.^[5]

In medieval Latin it kept the grammatical sense and also meant added or additional, fictitious, and accidental as opposed to essential;^[6][7] Thomas Aquinas set the adjective, which places its meaning on a subject, against the substantive.^[8] Köbler finds it in the Lex Salica.^[3] Copernicus used it in mathematics for quantities to be added.^[9] Conte derives Italian aggettivo from it.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 362 AD – Charisius uses it in grammar.^[2][3]
• first half of the 5th century AD – Macrobius uses the neuter adiectivum for an adjective.^[5][3]
• 6th century AD – Priscian uses nomen adiectivum and related phrases.^[2][3]
• third quarter of the 8th century – It is found in the Lex Salica.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Added, additional.^[1][7][4]
2. (grammar) Added to a noun, adjectival;^[10][2][4] nomen adiectivum, or the neuter adiectivum alone, an adjective.^[10][2][4]
3. (Medieval Latin) Fictitious, made up.^[6]
4. (Medieval Latin, philosophy) Accidental, not essential.^[6]

Word family

• adiectīvālis
• adiectīvum

Related words

• interiectīvus
• adiciō
• English adjective

References

1. ^ a b c d e f 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 d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b 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. ^ Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
9. ^ Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
10. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press