Etymologically
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coalitio

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 23 October 2026 at 14:13. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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