conformis

Forms

cōnfōrmis (neuter cōnfōrme, adverb cōnfōrmiter); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin con- + fōrma (“form, shape”).^[2][3][4][1] The TLL compares the later cōnfōrmālis.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in the Old Latin Bible, in Philippians, where the body of our humiliation is to be made like the body of Christ's glory.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short call it late Latin.^[7] It means similar or like, with the dative or the genitive, as in the Vulgate's conformes fieri imaginis Filii sui “to become like the image of his Son”.^[7][2][3] Ambrose uses it as a noun, “one like you”, beside consors.^[2][3]

In Medieval Latin it meant equal in form or nature, in agreement with, and appropriate;^[8][9] a noun conformis “fellow, likeness” is recorded from about 1190.^[6] Italian conforme comes from it.^[4]

Timeline

• after 220 AD – The Old Latin Bible uses it in Philippians.^[5][6]
• c. 315–367/368 AD – Hilary of Poitiers quotes the passage.^[5][6]
• c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose uses it as a noun.^[2][6]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it with the genitive in Romans.^[7][6]
• c. 431–486 AD – Sidonius Apollinaris uses it in a letter.^[7][6]
• c. 1190 – The Miracles of Otto of Bamberg use it as a noun.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Similar, like (with dative or genitive).^[7][2][3][1]
2. (Medieval Latin) In agreement, conformable; appropriate.^[9][8][1]

Noun

1. (Late Latin) One who is like another, a fellow.^[2][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) An image, likeness.^[6]

Related words

• English conform

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
3. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d 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 h i Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill