condicionalis

Forms

condiciōnālis (neuter condiciōnāle, adverb condiciōnāliter); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1] It is also spelled conditiōnālis.^[2][3][1] Tertullian has the form condiciōnābilis.^[4][5]

Etymology

It is from Latin condiciō (“condition, term”) + -ālis.^[6][5][1] That noun comes from condīcō (“to agree upon, promise”).^[1] Conte calls the adjective Late Latin.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL quotes the grammarian Palaemon, as cited by Charisius, for sī joined to the subjunctive when the statement is conditional and uncertain.^[5] The first dated author is the jurist Gaius, who writes of making a condemnation conditional.^[6][7][3]

Semantic evolution

It was frequent in the jurists:^[2] Ulpian says that conditional sales are completed when the condition is fulfilled, and Papinian speaks of conditional legacies.^[6] Tertullian uses it of threats and punishments that depend on a condition.^[5][2] In logic and rhetoric it meant “hypothetical”: Marius Victorinus speaks of a conditional question, that is a hypothetical one, and Martianus Capella and Boethius of conditional syllogisms and propositions.^[5] Georges also gives a noun meaning “substitute”, from Tertullian and Augustine, and Gaffiot explains the condiciōnālis servus of the Theodosian Code as a slave who could not leave servitude.^[8][4][2]

Medieval Latin kept the senses “conditional” and, in logic, “hypothetical”,^[9][10][11] and used the feminine as a noun for a conditional proposition or clause.^{[11][12][13][3]} It also meant “concerning servile status”: in Hungary land and services owed under certain conditions, and the dependent people who owed them, were condiciōnālēs.^{[10][9][12][3]} It is the source of Italian condizionale,^[7] and English conditional came from it through Old French in the late 14th century.^[14]

Timeline

• 140–180 AD – Gaius writes of a conditional condemnation.^[6][3]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it of conditional threats.^[5][2][3]
• before 212 AD – Papinian speaks of conditional legacies.^[6][3]
• before 223 AD – Ulpian speaks of conditional sales.^[6][3]
• first half of the 4th century AD – Marius Victorinus uses it of a hypothetical question.^[5][3]
• 438 AD – The Theodosian Code uses it of a slave bound to servitude.^[4][3]
• 1275 – A Hungarian charter grants land held under conditions of service.^[12]
• late 14th century – English conditional is borrowed through Old French.^[14]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (law) Subject to a condition, conditional, contingent.^[6][2][5][1]
2. (grammar, logic) Hypothetical, conditional (of statements, syllogisms).^[5][7][9]
3. (Late Latin, law) Bound to servitude (of a slave).^[4][2]
4. (Medieval Latin) Concerning servile status; owing services, dependent.^{[10][9][12][3]}

Noun

1. (Late Latin) A substitute.^[8]
2. (Medieval Latin, feminine) A conditional proposition or clause.^{[11][12][13][3]}
3. (Medieval Latin, masculine) A dependent bound to services.^[12][3]

Related words

• condīcō
• English conditional

References

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