condemnatio

Forms

condemnātiō f (genitive condemnātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin condemnō (“to condemn”) + -tiō.^[2][3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's first example is from Cicero (81–43 BC), of money taken for bringing about the condemnation of Oppianicus: ob Oppianici condemnationem pecuniam accepisset.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The word is a legal term:^[2] the condemnation of a defendant, also the verdict itself.^[2] In the jurists it is the part of the procedural formula that gives the judge the power to condemn or acquit, and the damages awarded in a civil case (condemnatio pecuniaria).^[2][5]

In Medieval Latin it was a sentence or judgement, a fine imposed, and, in Church law, excommunication.^[6] Ecclesiastical Latin uses it of the sentence of condemnation.^[7] English took it over in the late 14th century as condemnation.^[8]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a condemnation in court.^[2][4]
• 140–180 AD – Gaius uses it of the clause of the formula and of the damages awarded.^[2][4]
• before 223 AD – Ulpian speaks of condemnatio pecuniaria.^[2][4]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as condemnation.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (law) A condemnation; a verdict of guilty.^[2][5]
2. (law) The clause of the procedural formula empowering the judge to condemn or acquit.^[2]
3. (law) The damages awarded in a civil case.^[2]
4. (Medieval Latin) A fine;^[6] (Church law) excommunication.^[6]

Related words

• condemnō
• damnātiō
• English condemnation

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com