athleticus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [aːtʰˈɫeː.tɪ.kʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [atˈlɛː.ti.kus]^[1]

Forms

āthlēticus (feminine āthlētica, neuter āthlēticum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀθλητικός (āthlētikós, “athletic”), from ⟨athlētḗs⟩ “athlete”.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Celsus, whom he dates 14–37 AD, and Celsus has victus āthlēticus “an athlete's diet”.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

It meant of or proper to an athlete, and ars āthlētica or āthlētica was athletics, as in Gellius.^[2][5] Lewis & Short note it is not in Cicero.^[4]

It gave English athletic in the 1630s, “pertaining to an athlete or to contests of strength”.^[6]

Timeline

• 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it.^[3][4]
• c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it.^[5][3]
• 1630s – English athletic is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of an athlete, athletic, ars āthlētica, athletics.^[2]

Word family

• athletica

Related words

• āthlēta
• English athletic

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com