audacitas

Forms

audācitās f (genitive audācitātis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin audāx (“bold, daring”) + -tās.^[1][2] The Classical word for boldness is audācia; the pair is like ferōcia beside ferōcitās.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a medieval word: Köbler dates its earliest record, from Latham's word-list, to about 680.^[2] The Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch gives Flodoard's history, where a wild animal is not to be attacked by the boldness of hunters, for the sense of courage or daring.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The word had two sides from the start: courage and a spirit of attack, and impudence or presumption, as in Hugeburc's life of Wynnebald, where someone is said not to trust presumptuously in his own strength.^[3] The negative sense of rashness and arrogance is also recorded in the medieval Latin of Hungary, in a document of 1448,^[4] and of Poland, where it is dated 1550; a Polish charter of 1261 uses it for a permission granted.^[5]

English borrowed the Medieval Latin word in the early 15th century as audacity, first for boldness and courage; the sense of presumptuous impudence followed in the 1530s.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 680 – The earliest record Köbler gives.^[2]
• 1st half of the 10th century – Flodoard uses it for courage, daring.^[3][2]
• 1261 – A Polish charter uses it for a permission.^[5]
• early 15th century – Borrowed into English as audacity.^[6]
• 1448 – A Hungarian document uses it for rashness.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) Courage, daring, eagerness to attack.^[3][1]
2. (Medieval Latin) Impudence, presumption, rashness.^[3][4][1]
3. (Medieval Latin) A permission.^[5]

Related words

• audāx
• audācia
• audeō
• English audacity

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
5. ^ a b c Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com