affectator

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [af.fɛkˈtaː.tɔr]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [af.fekˈtaː.tor]^[1]

Forms

affectātor m (genitive affectātōris, feminine affectātrīx); third declension^[1] Also spelled adfectātor.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin affectō (“to strive after”) + -tor.^[2][1] ⟨affectō⟩ is a frequentative of afficiō, from ad- and faciō (“to do”).^[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest source is Quintilian, who has nimius rīsūs affectātor “one who strives too much for laughs”.^[4][3] Köbler dates Quintilian c. 35–95/96 AD.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant a person who strives to obtain or produce something, a zealous seeker, an aspirant, often in a bad sense, as in Quintilian, and in Eutropius iūstī amōris affectātor “one who sought rightful love”.^[2][3]

In Medieval Latin, as affectātor or affaitātor, it was a tanner.^[5] British Medieval Latin used it for a desirer and a pretender.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it.^[3][4]
• 1144 – A charter uses it.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A zealous seeker, aspirant.^[2]
2. (Medieval Latin) A tanner.^[5]
3. (Medieval Latin) A pretender.^[6]

Related words

• affectō
• afficiō
• affectātiō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d 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 Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
6. ^ 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