Pronunciation
Forms
calefactiō f (genitive calefactiōnis); third declension[1]
Etymology
It is from Latin calefaciō (“to make warm”) + -tiō.[2][1]
Earliest recorded meaning
Lewis & Short call it post-Augustan, citing the Digest on heating a public bath (balneī pūblicī calefactiō).[3][4]
Semantic evolution
It meant the heating of a bath, warming, heating, and in the plural the heating of hot baths.[2][3]
In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant heat, heating.[5] British Medieval Latin used it for heating, warming, figuratively, and in medicine.[6] English calefaction, French caléfaction and Spanish calefacción are from it.[1]
Meanings
Noun
Related words
- calefaciō
- English calefaction
References
- ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
- ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
- ^ 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
Cite this entry
“Calefactio.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/calefactio. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.
Last edited on . ·