confluentia

Forms

cōnfluentia f (genitive cōnfluentiae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin cōnfluēns + -ia,^[1] from the present participle of cōnfluō (“to flow or run together”).^[1][2][3] The simple verb fluō goes back to Proto-Italic *flow-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *bʰleuH- (“to flow (over)”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its only ancient record is in Macrobius' Saturnalia (first half of the 5th century AD), where it means a flowing together or afflux, of blood in an illness.^[2][5][6]

Semantic evolution

Medieval Latin used it for the meeting of rivers, as of the Danube and the Isar, and in place names,^[7] for the mouth of a river,^[7] and for any converging of water, light rays, wealth or people.^[8] By extension it meant a great gathering or abundance.^[7][6] As a proper name, Confluentia is Koblenz.^[6]

English confluence (early 15th century) comes from the Late Latin word.^[3]

Timeline

• first half of the 5th century AD – Macrobius uses it of a rush of blood.^[2][6]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as confluence.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) A flowing together, conflux; an afflux of blood.^[9][5][10]
2. (Medieval Latin) The confluence of rivers; the mouth of a river.^[7][8]
3. (Medieval Latin) A convergence of light rays, wealth or people; a great gathering.^[8][7]

Related words

• cōnfluō
• fluō
• English confluence

Usage notes

Confluentia with a capital is the Medieval Latin name of Koblenz, at the meeting of the Rhine and the Moselle.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d e Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ 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
9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier