alternativus

Forms

alternātīvus (feminine alternātīva, neuter alternātīvum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin alternātus (“alternated”) + -īvus, formed on the past participle of alternō (“to do by turns, alternate”).^[1][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler and the MLW first find it in the rules of the papal chancery (1230–1280), which reject vows that are conditional, alternātīva and uncertain: here it means open to two readings, ambiguous.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In medical writing it described a power that brings about change, as heat changing a colour.^[4] Its usual medieval sense was “taking turns”: Polish and Czech sources use it of patrons who present a priest to a church in alternate turns, and a Hungarian charter of 1355 of land shared in equal halves.^[5][6][7] Canon law spoke of mēnsēs alternātīvī, the months in which the right to fill a church office passed in turn to the pope or another authority.^[5] In grammar and argument it meant offering a choice between two things, a sense Coluccio Salutati and seventeenth-century documents also show.^[7][8] A British text of 1527 uses the feminine as a noun for an agreement between alternative choices.^[9]

English alternative, first recorded in the 1580s in the sense “offering one or the other of two”, comes from it.^[3]

Timeline

• 1230–1280 – The papal chancery rules reject ambiguous vows.^[4][2]
• 1355 – A Hungarian charter uses it of land divided in equal halves.^[7]
• 1380 – A Polish document has patrons presenting in alternate turns.^[5]
• 1512 – Polish records speak of the alternative months of papal collation.^[5]
• 1580s – English alternative is formed from it.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Medieval Latin) Ambiguous, conditional.^[4][2]
2. (Medieval Latin) Bringing about change or variation.^[4][2]
3. (Medieval Latin) Alternating, done in turns; mutual, equal.^[1][5][6][7]
4. (Medieval Latin, grammar) Offering a choice between two, to be decided one way or the other; alternative.^[7][8]
5. (Medieval Latin, as a feminine noun) An agreement involving alternative choices.^[9]

Related words

• alternus
• alter
• English alternative

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d e Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
6. ^ a b Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences
7. ^ a b c d e Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
8. ^ a b Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
9. ^ 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