competitio

Forms

competītiō f (genitive competītiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin competō (“to coincide, be fit; to strive for together”) + -tiō.^[1][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from about the middle of the 4th century,^[2] and Köbler's first source is the Itinerarium Alexandri, of about 340.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Late Latin used it in several senses.^[4][2] Sidonius Apollinaris has it in a letter, of the calls of dice players, where Lewis and Short take it as agreement,^[4][2] the Theodosian Code for a legal claim,^[4][5] and Ambrose for rivalry.^[4]

In medieval Latin it meant above all a claim to something, then usurpation and prosecution;^[6][7] the Burgundian laws speak of an excessive claim by the faramanni.^[7] The MLW also records it for a simultaneous application by several people for one thing, and Niermeyer for competition.^[7][6]

Timeline

• c. 340 AD – The Itinerarium Alexandri has it.^[3]
• c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it for rivalry.^[4][3]
• 438 AD – The Theodosian Code uses it for a legal claim.^[4][3]
• c. 431–486 AD – Sidonius Apollinaris uses it in a letter, of calls in a game of dice.^[4][2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) Agreement, concurrence.^[4][2]
2. (Late Latin, law) A legal claim or demand.^[4][2]
3. (Late Latin) Rivalry.^[4][1]
4. (Medieval Latin) A claim; usurpation; prosecution.^[6][7]
5. (Medieval Latin) Competition, a simultaneous application.^[6][7]

Related words

• competēns
• competenter
• competentia
• competitor
• competitrix
• compitum

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
6. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften