combustibilis

Forms

combustibilis (neuter combustibile); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1][2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin combūrō + -bilis, “that can be burnt”.^[1][3] combūrō (“to burn up”) arose, according to de Vaan, through a wrong division of ambūrō (“to burn around”) as ⟨am-būrō⟩, and goes back to ūrō (“to burn”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The MLW's first example is a 12th-century allegorical work, which calls oil combustible.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Scholastic natural philosophy used it widely: Albertus Magnus calls wood combustible, and in Britain Robert Grosseteste and Roger Bacon use it of matter that fire consumes.^[2][5] As a neuter noun it meant fuel, a combustible substance,^[2][5][6] and in charters it described wood for burning.^[2][7] Italian humanists kept it: Coluccio Salutati and a commentary on Dante use it.^[8] English took combustible in the 1520s, from French or directly from Latin.^[9]

Timeline

• 12th century – An allegorical work calls oil combustible.^[2][3]
• 1317 – A Silesian charter speaks of a heap of wood for burning.^[7]
• 1322 – A charter in the Regesta Slovaciae speaks of woods to be kept for firewood.^[6]
• 1520s – English borrows it as combustible.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Medieval Latin) Combustible, that can be burnt.^[2][5][8]
2. (Medieval Latin) Fit for burning, used as fuel.^[2][7][6]

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin, neuter) A combustible substance, fuel.^[2][5][6]

Related words

• combūrō
• combustiō
• English combustible

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d 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
6. ^ a b c d Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
7. ^ a b c Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
8. ^ a b Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com