Etymologically
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celebratus

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Forms

celebrātus (feminine celebrāta, neuter celebrātum); comparative celebrātior, superlative celebrātissimus; first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is the participle from Latin celebrō (“to throng; to celebrate; to make known”), used as an adjective.[1][2] De Vaan thinks celebrō was back-formed from concelebrō, itself made from celeber (“crowded, frequented”), whose etymology he calls unknown; a link with calō1 (“to call out”), suggested by Bader, is possible.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler finds it first in Cicero,[4] who in the Pro Flacco asks what is so worn and common in Greek speech as a certain saying.[1]

Semantic evolution

Its first senses follow the verb: thronged or crowded, as Sallust's market that was the busiest in the kingdom, and marked by crowds or festivities, as Livy's popular thanksgiving.[1] It then means famous or distinguished, as Sallust's rock that the neighbours call by the name of the famous Scylla and Pliny the Elder's celebrated authors.[1] Widely known and talked about, it is used by Cicero of matters on everyone's lips, and Gellius says one word is commoner than another.[1] Quintilian and Tacitus use it of what is popular or esteemed.[1]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of a common saying.[1][4]
  • 86–34 BC – Sallust, of a crowded market and a famous name.[1][4]
  • 59 BC–17 AD – Livy, of a festive thanksgiving.[1][4]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius, of a word in common use.[1][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Thronged, crowded.[1]
  2. Marked by crowds or festivities.[1]
  3. Celebrated, famous, distinguished.[1][2]
  4. Widely known, current, common; much talked about; popular, esteemed.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de