communicativus

Forms

commūnicātīvus (feminine commūnicātīva, neuter commūnicātīvum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin commūnicō (“to share, impart”) + -īvus, on the stem of the past participle.^[2][3][4] Conte treats it as a Late Latin word.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest source is the grammarian Virgilius Maro, of the 7th century;^[2] Gaffiot cites it from a scholium on Lucan, meaning fit for imparting or communicating.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In scholastic Latin it described what shares or imparts itself, above all the good, which writers called communicative of itself;^[6][7] for Thomas Aquinas it is a synonym of diffusivus.^[8] Of people it meant generous, free with one's goods,^[6][9][10] and also sociable or ready to talk: a St Albans source praises an abbot as a fine speaker, discreet and communicative.^[7] It could also mean common, of public benefit.^[6][2]

Italian comunicativo goes back to it,^[5] while English communicative came through French.^[4]

Timeline

• 7th century AD – Virgilius Maro Grammaticus uses it.^[2]
• late 14th century – English communicative is first recorded, from French.^[4]
• 1435 – A Polish charter speaks of the communicative generosity of the Creator.^[11]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Imparting, sharing; fit for communicating.^[3][6][7]
2. (Medieval Latin) generous, liberal.^[6][9][10]
3. (Medieval Latin) sociable; talkative, communicative.^[7][12]
4. (Medieval Latin) Common, of public benefit.^[6][2]

Related words

• communico
• English communicative

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
6. ^ a b c d e f Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ 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
8. ^ Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
9. ^ a b du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
10. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
11. ^ Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
12. ^ Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences