assignatio

Forms

assignātiō f (genitive assignātiōnis); third declension^[1] Also spelled adsignātiō.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin assignō + -tiō, a noun of action from the verb meaning “to allot, assign”.^[2][1] The verb comes from signō (“to mark”), a derivative of signum (“sign”),^[4] which goes back to Proto-Italic *sekno- and Proto-Indo-European *sek(h₂)-no- (“cut”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero (81–43 BC)^[5] has it in his speeches on the agrarian law, for the distribution of land to colonists, and also for a plot of land granted in this way.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The allotment of land to colonists was its commonest Classical sense;^[3] Valerius Maximus has it in this sense too.^[3] The jurists extended it to the assignment of other things, such as water or freedmen.^[2][6]

In medieval Latin it was a signature made by drawing a cross,^[7][8] and the assignment of an annuity or a dowry.^[7] British sources used it for grants and transfers, the assignment of a debt, the allocation of a place and the appointment of a time, including a tryst.^[9] English took it in the early 14th century, through Old French, for an appointment by authority.^[10]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for the distribution of land to colonists.^[2][5]
• before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it for the assignment of freedmen.^[2][5]
• early 14th century – English borrows it, through Old French, as assignation.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A distribution or allotment of land, especially to colonists.^[2][3]
2. A plot of land granted in this way.^[2]
3. The assignment or allocation of other things.^[2][3]
4. (Medieval Latin) A subscription made by drawing a cross.^[7][8]
5. (Medieval Latin) The assignment of an annuity or a dowry.^[7]
6. (Medieval Latin) The appointment of a time; an assignation or tryst.^[9]

Related words

• English assignation

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
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
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com