cata

Forms

cata (+ accusative)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek κατά (katá, “down; according to; throughout”).^[1][2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cyprian (beginning of 3rd century–258 AD) cites the Gospel cata Matthaeum and cata Iohannen, “according to Matthew, to John”.^[5][6][7]

Semantic evolution

It first appears in terms taken over from Greek, above all in the titles of the Gospels.^[7] A grammarian notes that it has several senses: cata Matthaeum stands for secundum Matthaeum, while in cata mane it stands for iuxtā.^[7] The Vulgate of Ezekiel has cata mane mane, “morning by morning”.^[2][3][5]

In Medieval Latin it still meant “according to”, as in Aldhelm and Boniface,^[8][9] and it was also used in a distributive sense in medical recipes, to say how often a remedy is given.^[8] It became Spanish and Catalan cada and Old French cha, the source of French chaque and chacun.^[1][7]

Timeline

• beginning of 3rd century–258 AD – Cyprian cites the Gospel cata Matthaeum.^[5][6][4]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate has cata mane mane “every morning”.^[2][3][4]
• before 690 – Aldhelm uses it for “according to”.^[9][8]

Meanings

Preposition

1. (Late Latin, with accusative) according to (in the titles of the Gospels).^{[5][6][10][8]}
2. (Late Latin, with accusative, distributive) every, by: cata mane mane, “morning by morning”.^[2][3][6]
3. (Late Latin) Near, among.^[1][7]
4. (Medieval Latin) After, behind.^[8]

Usage notes

A medieval homograph cata “merchandise, purchase”, found in John of Salisbury, is taken from the Old French verb for “to buy”.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ 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
10. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill