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christianitas

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word christianitas

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
300–350 Marius Victorinus More words from the 3rd century
Ultimate origin
Latin Chrīstiānus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin chrīstiānitās
English Christianity

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [kʰriːs.tiˈaː.nɪ.taːs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [kris.tiˈaː.ni.tas][1]

Forms

chrīstiānitās f (genitive chrīstiānitātis); third declension[1][2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin Chrīstiānus + -tās, a noun of state from the adjective “Christian”.[1][2][3] Wiktionary capitalises it as a proper name, ⟨Chrīstiānitās⟩, while Lewis & Short, Gaffiot and the TLL print it in lower case.[1][2][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL's earliest witnesses are a work attributed to Cyprian on the celibacy of the clergy and Marius Victorinus, in the first half of the 4th century AD,[5][6] who uses it of the Christian religion: in his commentary on Ephesians faith, knowledge and love together make up the perfection of christianitas.[5]

Semantic evolution

In the 4th and 5th centuries it is common in Christian writers such as Ambrose, Zeno of Verona, Filastrius and Augustine for the Christian faith and way of life.[5] The Theodosian Code uses it for Christianity, by metonymy for the whole body of Christians and for the Christian clergy.[2][7][4]

Medieval Latin kept these senses and added others: Niermeyer records Christendom, Christian spirit and morals, the community of Christians and the quality of being a Christian,[8] and Köbler lists such medieval senses as baptism, admission to communion, church authority and spiritual jurisdiction.[6] Old French took it over as ⟨crestienté⟩, the source of the English word Christianity.[3]

Timeline

  • first half of the 4th century AD – Marius Victorinus uses it of the Christian religion.[5][6]
  • 354–430 AD – Augustine speaks of the profession of christianitas.[5][6]
  • 438 AD – The Theodosian Code uses it for Christianity, Christendom and the Christian clergy.[2][4][6]
  • 540–604 AD – Gregory the Great uses it.[6]
  • c. 1300 – English takes it, through Old French, as cristente.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Late Latin) Christianity, the Christian religion.[2][7][9][5]
  2. (Late Latin) Christendom, all Christians taken together.[7][4][8]
  3. (Late Latin) The Christian clergy.[2][7][4]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Christian spirit and morals.[8]
  5. (Medieval Latin) The quality of being a Christian.[8]
  6. (Medieval Latin) Baptism; church authority and spiritual jurisdiction.[6]

Usage notes

Lewis & Short give it as a synonym of Christianismus.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
Cite this entry

“Christianitas.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/christianitas. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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