consternatio

Forms

cōnsternātiō f (genitive cōnsternātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin cōnsternō (“to dismay, alarm”) + -tiō.^[2][3][1][4] Festus explained it from sneezing, because it is a sudden agitation from fear that shakes the whole body.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Livy;^[5] Lewis & Short note that it is not found before Augustus and is mostly used by the historians.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It is unsettlement or confusion of the mind, shock, dismay: Livy asks what caused the sudden anger and dismay, and Tacitus joins it with fear, as fear and dismay of mind.^[3][2] It is also excitement, disturbance or disorder, as Valerius Maximus' outburst of creditors against a magistrate, and a riot or mutiny.^[2][1] English consternation dates from the 1610s, from French and Latin.^[6]

Timeline

• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy of sudden dismay.^[3][5]
• 98–115 AD – Tacitus of fear and dismay.^[3]
• 1610s – English consternation.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. Confusion of the mind, shock, dismay, consternation.^[2][3][1]
2. Excitement, disturbance, disorder; tumult, mutiny.^[2][1]

Related words

• cōnsternō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com