Etymologically
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condigne

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Forms

condignē (not comparable); adverb[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin condignus (“very worthy, befitting”) + -ē, an adverb.[1][2] The adjective is formed from com- and dīgnus (“worthy”),[1] which de Vaan places with decet (“it is fitting”) and traces to Proto-Indo-European *deḱ-no-.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from Plautus on,[4][2] both on its own, meaning “fittingly”, and with an ablative: condignē tē, “in a way worthy of you”.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

The word is rare: after Plautus it appears in Gellius, in a letter of Marcus Aurelius to Fronto and in Apuleius.[2][5] Medieval British writers use it of a crime or an excess that is to be punished as it deserves.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it in the Menaechmi and the Casina.[2][6][4]
  • c. 165 AD – Gellius uses it.[2][4]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it with an ablative.[2][5][4]
  • 1231 – An English record asks how so great an excess should be suitably punished by church censure.[7]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. In a fitting manner, worthily, appropriately.[1][5][7]
  2. (with ablative) In a manner worthy of (someone).[5][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  7. ^ 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