ariditas

Forms

āriditās f (genitive āriditātis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin āridus (“dry”) + -tās, from āreō (“to be dry”).^[2][1][3] De Vaan traces ⟨āreō⟩ to Proto-Italic *ās-ē- (“to be dry”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₁s-eh₁- (“to be dry”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is Varro, and Lewis & Short and Gaffiot cite Pliny.^[3][5][6] Köbler dates Varro 116–27 BC.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant dryness, drought, as in Pliny, and Palladius uses āriditās fimī for dry dung.^[2][5][6]

British Medieval Latin used it for dryness, in the theory of the elements, and for a withered part of the body.^[7] German Aridität is from it.^[3]

Timeline

• 116–27 BC – Varro uses it.^[3]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny uses it.^[5][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Dryness, drought.^[2][5]

Related words

• āridus
• āreō
• ārea

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ 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