Etymologically
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comparatio

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kɔm.paˈraː.ti.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [kom.paˈrat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

comparātiō f (genitive comparātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from comparō “to match, compare” with the suffix -tiō, and is also spelled ⟨conp-⟩.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL says it is read from the Rhetorica ad Herennium, and the OLD's earliest citation for a rhetorical argument is from it.[4][2] Köbler dates it 86/82 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant a comparison, a weighing of relative merits, and in rhetoric an argument from the more probable of two actions, or a plea of justification by a greater good.[2] Comparātiōne or in comparātiōnem meant in comparison with, as in Livy.[2] In Quintilian it meant the comparative degree, and in Cicero a relationship of position, and comparātiō prō portiōne proportion.[2] The TLL notes it is rare in the poets.[4]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant comparison.[6] British Medieval Latin used it of comparison in grammar and of a simile.[7] Through Old French comparaison it gave English comparison in the mid-14th century.[8]

Timeline

  • 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium uses it of a rhetorical argument.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of proportion.[2][5]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of the comparative.[2][5]
  • mid-14th century – English comparison is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Comparison, comparātiōne, in comparison with.[2]
  2. (rhetoric) An argument from the more probable.[2]
  3. (grammar) The comparative degree.[2]
  4. Relationship; proportion.[2]

Usage notes

A different comparātiō, from comparō “to prepare”, meant preparation, procuring, building and arrangement, as Cicero's novī bellī comparātiō “preparation of a new war”.[2][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ 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. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.