Etymologically
Log in

commissio

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 21:12. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

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]

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