altercatio

Forms

altercātiō f (genitive altercātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin altercor (“to dispute, wrangle”) + -tiō, an action noun.^[2][1] That verb is formed from alter (“the other (of two)”).^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has it in the Aulularia for a quarrel;^[5][6][3] Lewis & Short mark the passage as the only one in Plautus.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Cicero writes of a day spent in a dispute between the consul Lentulus and the tribune Caninius, and uses it of a philosophical argument;^[5][2] Lewis & Short note that he has it in his letters and philosophical works, while in the speeches disceptātiō and contentiō usually take its place.^[5] In rhetoric it was the rapid exchange of questions and retorts between opponents in court, as opposed to a continuous speech.^[2][5] Livy and Tacitus use it too,^[5] and in the mythographer Hyginus Altercatio is a deity, a child of Aether and Earth.^[2] Christian writers used it of a written debate in the form of a dialogue.^[7] In medieval Latin it was also a lawsuit or a legal claim.^[8][9] English altercation comes from it, partly through Old French.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of a quarrel.^[5][3]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of debates in the senate, in court and in philosophy.^[5][2][3]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of heated disputes.^[5][3]
• 680 – Aldhelm uses it of a dispute with heretics.^[10][9]
• late 14th century – English altercation is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A dispute, especially an angry one; a wrangle, an altercation.^[2][5]
2. (rhetoric) A quick exchange of questions and retorts with an opponent in court; repartee.^[2][5]
3. (philosophy) A debate, a disputation.^[2]
4. (personified) Strife as a deity.^[2][7]
5. (Medieval Latin) A lawsuit; a legal claim.^[8][9]

Related words

• altercātor
• altercor
• alter

Usage notes

Döderlein groups it with contentiō and iūrgium as disputes carried on with passion but kept to words, unlike disceptātiō and contrōversia, which are settled calmly, and unlike rixa, which comes to blows.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b c Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
10. ^ 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
11. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper