commissio

Forms

commissiō f (genitive commissiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin committō (“to bring together; to entrust”) + -tiō.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero, in letters to Atticus, asks to be told from the very opening how the games are received.^[3][4] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense was the opening or holding of games or contests.^[2] Lewis & Short explain it from committere, to set together in a contest.^[4] Suetonius and Pliny the Younger use it of performances, and by metonymy it meant a showpiece speech composed for such a contest.^[6][7] Ambrose uses it of a joint or union.^[6][7]

In Christian Latin it meant the committing of a sin.^[8][5] Medieval Latin developed the senses of entrusting, a mandate or delegation, a lease, and the forfeiture of a fief.^[8][9] English commission came from Old French and directly from Latin in the mid-14th century, of delegated authority.^[10]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the opening of games.^[3][5]
• c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius uses it of the start of games.^[4][5]
• c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it of a joint.^[6][5]
• mid-14th century – English commission is recorded.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. The opening or holding of games or contests.^[2][1]
2. A showpiece speech for a contest.^[6]
3. (Late Latin) A joint, union.^[6][7]
4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The committing of a sin.^[8]
5. (Medieval Latin) A commission, mandate; a lease; forfeiture of a fief.^[8][9]

Related words

• English commission

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com