Etymologically
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astronomia

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [as.trɔˈnɔ.mi.a][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [as.troˈnɔː.mi.a][1]

Forms

astronomia f (genitive astronomiae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀστρονομία (astronomía, “astronomy”), from ἄστρον (ástron, “star”) and νόμος (nómos, “law”).[2][1][3] Cassiodorus and Isidore explain the name as “the law of the stars”.[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Seneca the Younger uses it in his Letters, and Petronius has it soon after.[6][7] Köbler dates Seneca 4 BC–65 AD.[8]

Semantic evolution

It was the science of the heavenly bodies.[2] The older word for this was astrologia.[9] Isidore of Seville defines it as the law of the stars, which traces the courses and figures of the constellations around themselves and the earth, and separates it from astrology.[5][4] Boethius, Augustine and Jerome also use it.[6]

In medieval Latin it was one of the disciplines of the schools, as in Bede, and was also used for astrology.[10][11] English astronomy came from Old French about 1200, covering both astronomy and astrology.[3]

Timeline

  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca the Younger uses it.[6][8]
  • before 66 AD – Petronius uses it.[6][8]
  • c. 560–636 AD – Isidore of Seville defines it as the law of the stars.[5][8]
  • c. 1200 – English astronomy is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. astronomy.[2][1]
  2. (Medieval Latin) astrology.[11][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  6. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  8. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften