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canticum

Etymology and origin of the Latin word canticum

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (canō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈkan.tɪ.kũː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈkan.ti.kum][1]

Forms

canticum n (genitive canticī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from cantus “song” with the suffix -icus.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citations are from Cicero, of a sung passage in a comedy.[2] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant a passage in a comedy that was chanted or sung, and singsong speech, as in Cicero, and in Petronius a song.[2] Isidore defines it as the voice of one singing for joy.[4] Döderlein explains that canere is making music of any kind, cantāre singing with the voice.[5]

In Christian Latin it meant a hymn, a psalm, a canticle.[6][7] British Medieval Latin used it for a song, ballad, and a byword.[8] It survives in Romanian cântec “song”, and its diminutive canticulum gave English canticle in the early 13th century.[1][9]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a sung passage.[2][3]
  • before 66 AD – Petronius uses it of a song.[2][3]
  • early 13th century – English canticle is recorded.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A sung passage in a comedy.[2]
  2. A song.[2]
  3. Singsong speech.[2]
  4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A hymn, canticle, psalm.[6]

Word family

  • canticulum

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  5. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Canticum.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/canticum. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·