apostolus

Forms

apostolus m (genitive apostolī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (apóstolos, “messenger, envoy; one who is sent”),^[2][3][1][4] from ἀποστέλλω (apostéllō, “to send away, send forth”),^[1][4] made of ἀπό (apó, “off, away from”) and στέλλω (stéllō, “to send”).^[4] Etymonline traces the last to Proto-Indo-European *stel- (“to put, stand”).^[4] Jerome and Isidore of Seville explain the name as “those who are sent”.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tertullian (c. 160–220 AD) uses it of the Apostles,^[2][6] and in the 3rd century the jurist Paulus uses it, in the plural, for the report a judge sends to a higher court on an appeal.^[2][7][6]

Semantic evolution

In the jurists the apostoli were the letters by which a judge referred an appeal to a higher tribunal, which Georges equates with Latin litterae dimissoriae.^[2][3][7] In the Vulgate and the Church Fathers it means first a messenger or envoy, as in “nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him” (John 13:16), and above all an Apostle of Christ.^[5][2][7]

Medieval Latin used it also for later missionaries and preachers of the faith,^[8][9] for “the Apostle” Paul as the author of the epistles,^[8][9] and for the reading from his letters at Mass.^[10][6] In law the apostoli remained letters of appeal, in canon law especially for an appeal to the Holy See.^[10] The word lives on in Italian apostolo, French apôtre and Spanish apóstol,^[5] and Old English borrowed it as apostol.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it of the Apostles.^[2][6]
• first half of the 3rd century AD – The jurist Paulus uses apostoli for letters on an appeal.^[2][7][6]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it both for a messenger and for the Twelve.^[5][2][6]
• 680 – The council of Hatfield, quoted by Bede, appeals to what the holy apostles and prophets preached.^[9]
• 9th century – Hincmar uses it for the reading of the Pauline epistles.^[6][10]

Meanings

Noun

1. (law, chiefly plural) A letter in which a judge refers an appeal to a higher court.^[2][3][7]
2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A messenger, envoy.^[5][7][11]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) An apostle of Christ.^[2][3][11]
4. (Medieval Latin) “The Apostle”, Saint Paul.^[8][9]
5. (Medieval Latin) A missionary, preacher of the faith.^[8][9]
6. (Medieval Latin) The reading from the Pauline epistles at Mass, the epistle.^[10][8]
7. (Medieval Latin, canon law) A letter of appeal, especially to the Holy See.^[10]

Word family

• apostolātus
• apostolicus

Related words

• epistula
• English apostle

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d e f Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b c d e 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
10. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
11. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson