commotio

Forms

commōtiō f (genitive commōtiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin commoveō (“to move violently, disturb”) + -tiō, a noun of action formed on the participle stem ⟨commōt-⟩ of the verb.^{[2][3][4][1][5]}

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL's first author is Cicero.^[3][6] In the second book of De finibus he says that the Greek philosophers understand by pleasure two things, gladness in the mind and commōtiōnem suāvem iūcunditātis in corpore, “a sweet stirring of delight in the body”.^[2][7][8]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it was a word for the stirring of the mind.^[2][7] Cicero speaks of a commōtiō animī and, in the plural, of the emotions, which temperance governs;^[7][8] Quintilian says it is taken to mean a passing movement of the mind, such as anger or fear.^[7]

Only post-classical writers use it of bodily motion:^[7] Palladius of the shaking of vessels, Caelius Aurelianus of the bowels and the head,^[7][8] and the Vulgate of the shaking of the head in scorn and of the shaking of the earth, commōtiō terrae, an earthquake.^[7][9][10] Cassiodorus writes of soldiers who stood without moving.^[3]

In Medieval Latin it covered a wide range of violent movements: a shock, a rising or riot, violence and fighting, a dispute or lawsuit, a military expedition, and anger.^[11][12][13] The MLW also records it for the departure of crusaders and, in medicine, for massage.^[12] It is the source of Italian commozione,^[10] and English commotion came from it, partly through Old French.^[5]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of a sweet stirring of delight in the body.^[2][3][6]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian defines it as a passing movement of the mind.^[7][6]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of the shaking of the head and of earthquakes.^[7][9][6]
• end of the 4th or beginning of the 5th century AD – Palladius uses it of shaking vessels.^[7][6]
• late 14th century – English takes commotion from it, partly through Old French.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Excitement, agitation (of the mind); an emotion, passion.^[2][7][8]
2. The arousing (of a feeling).^[2]
3. (post-classical) A moving, shaking (of vessels, of the head, of the bowels).^[7][8][9]
4. (Late Latin) A violent shaking;^[9][10][11] commōtiō terrae, an earthquake.^[9][10][11]
5. (Medieval Latin) A rising, riot, sedition.^[11][12][13]
6. (Medieval Latin) Violence, fighting; a dispute, lawsuit.^[11][13]
7. (Medieval Latin) A military expedition; the setting out (of crusaders).^[11][12]
8. (Medieval Latin) Anger, rage.^[11][12]

Word family

• commōtiuncula

Related words

• English commotion

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
9. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
10. ^ a b c d Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b c d e f g Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
12. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
13. ^ a b c Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE