arresto

Forms

arresto (infinitive arrestare, perfect arrestavi, supine arrestatum); first conjugation^[1] Also spelled aresto.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin ad- + restō (“to stay behind, remain”).^[1][3][4] Wiktionary reconstructs a spoken Latin *arrestō (“to stop”), apparently reflexive at first, which survives in the Romance languages, and takes the medieval written verb as a borrowing back from Romance.^[4] The DMLBS compares Old French arester, and the MLW French arrêter and Italian arrestare.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

According to Wiktionary the written verb is attested by 1194.^[4] The MLW cites it from a charter of Bremen of 1224, about ships to be seized.^[1]

Semantic evolution

In medieval legal language it meant to hold, seize and take into custody, said of people, and to seize, confiscate or impound, said of goods.^[1][5][6] British sources also use it for stopping or halting, holding fast, laying hold of, and laying ships under embargo,^[2] and in Bohemia it was used for halting court proceedings in time of war.^[6] Niermeyer adds the sense “to fix by a decision, to decree”.^[3] The verb is recorded in the medieval Latin of Poland and Hungary too.^[7][5]

English arrest comes from the Old French verb.^[8]

Timeline

• 1194 – The verb is attested in medieval Latin.^[4]
• 1224 – A charter of Bremen speaks of ships to be seized.^[1]
• 1274 – A British record uses it of carts held until a payment was made.^[2]
• late 14th century – English borrows arrest from Old French.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. (Medieval Latin) To stop or halt; to hold back.^[2][6]
2. (Medieval Latin, law) To arrest, detain or take into custody a person.^[1][2][3]
3. (Medieval Latin, law) To seize, confiscate or impound goods; to lay a ship under embargo.^[1][2][5]
4. (Medieval Latin) To fix by a decision, to decree.^[3]

Related words

• English arrest

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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
3. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
4. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b c Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
6. ^ a b c 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. ^ Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com