adoptio
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Pronunciation
Forms
adoptiō f (genitive adoptiōnis); third declension[1]
Etymology
It is from adoptō “to adopt”, from ad- and optō “to choose”, with the suffix -iō.[2][1][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
The OLD's earliest citation is from Cicero, of adoption into a family.[2] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[4]
Semantic evolution
It meant adoption into a family, especially of someone under a father's power, as in Cicero, and in Pliny the Elder grafting, or a grafted plant.[2] In Christian Latin spīritus adoptiōnis was the spirit of sonship.[4]
In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant adoption.[5] Medieval Latin used it for sponsorship, godparenthood.[6] It survives in Italian adozione, French adoption and Spanish adopción, and Late Latin adoptiō gave English adoption in the mid-14th century.[1][3]
Timeline
- 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of adoption.[2][4]
- 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of grafting.[2][4]
- mid-14th century – English adoption is recorded.[3]
Meanings
Noun
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
- ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill