Etymology and origin of the Latin word bonacia
From the same root
Forms
bonacia f (genitive bonaciae); first declension[1][2]
Etymology
It is malacia (“calm at sea”) reshaped after bonus (“good”), as if the first syllable of that noun were malus1 (“bad”).[3][2] Niccolò Perotti explained in his Cornucopiae that sailors and the common people said bonacia to avoid the ill omen of malacia.[1]
Earliest recorded meaning
Du Cange quotes it from Boncompagno's account of the siege of Ancona, which hopes that the sea of tribulations may turn into a calm.[4]
Semantic evolution
Romance kept the word: Italian bonaccia, French bonace, Catalan bonança and Spanish bonanza are its descendants.[3] From the Spanish word, which had come to mean prosperity and a rich vein of ore, English has bonanza, from 1826.[5]
Meanings
Noun
Related words
References
- ^ a b c Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
- ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
- ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
- ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Descendants
- English bonanza
Cite this entry
“Bonacia.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/bonacia. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.
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