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coalitio

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word coalitio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
648 AD, papal bull
Ultimate origin
Latin coalēscō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin coalesco
Latin coalitio
From the same root
Latin coalitus ← coalesco

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ko.aˈlɪ.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ko.aˈlit.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

coalitiō f (genitive coalitiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin coalēscō (“to grow together, unite”) + -tiō.[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Du Cange quotes it from a bull of Pope John IV of 648, where nuns who built a monastery are said to have founded there a large community of girls.[3]

Semantic evolution

It remained a rare medieval word for an association, a gathering or a community.[1][3] English coalition, first used in the 1610s for “the growing together of parts”, came from French coalition,[4] and took its political sense of an alliance of parties or nations by 1715.[4]

Timeline

  • 648 AD – A papal bull uses it of a community of nuns.[3]
  • 1610s – English coalition appears, through French.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) An association, society, congregation.[1][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  3. ^ a b c d du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Coalitio.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/coalitio. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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