apostolicus

Forms

apostolicus (feminine apostolica, neuter apostolicum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀποστολικός (apostolikós, “apostolic”),^[1][2][3] the adjective of ἀπόστολος (apóstolos), the source of Latin apostolus.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tertullian (c. 160–220 AD) has it first,^[4] meaning “of an apostle” or “of the apostles”: he speaks of the authority of an apostolic precept and of the apostolic age and doctrine.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

As a plural noun, apostolici meant the pupils and friends of the apostles in Tertullian,^[2] and Isidore of Seville gives it as the name of a Christian sect.^[2]

In Medieval Latin “apostolic” came to mean episcopal: apostolicus vir was a bishop and apostolica sedes the episcopal see; and then papal.^[7] As a noun, apostolicus meant a bishop and specifically the pope,^[1][4] and in Ecclesiastical Latin Apostolicus is a title of the pope.^[8] English borrowed it in the early 15th century as apostolic.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian speaks of an apostolic precept and the apostolic age.^[6][2][4]
• c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville names a sect called apostolici.^[2][4]
• 538/539–594 AD – Gregory of Tours uses it.^[4]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as apostolic.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Apostolic, of an apostle or the apostles.^[2][6][7]
2. (Medieval Latin) Episcopal: apostolica sedes, the episcopal see.^[7]
3. (Medieval Latin) Papal.^[7]

Noun

1. (plural) The pupils and friends of the apostles; also a Christian sect.^[2]
2. (Medieval Latin) A bishop; specifically the pope.^[1][4][8]

Related words

• English apostolic

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson