constitutio

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [kõː.stɪˈtuː.ti.oː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [kon.stiˈtut.t͡si.o]^[1]

Forms

cōnstitūtiō f (genitive cōnstitūtiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from cōnstituō “to set up, establish” with the suffix -tiō.^[2][1][3][4] Isidore defines a ⟨cōnstitūtiō⟩ or edict as what a king or emperor decrees.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL dates it from the Rhetorica ad Herennium and Cicero, and notes that the poets lack it.^[3] Köbler dates the Rhetorica 86/82 BC.^[6]

Semantic evolution

In rhetoric, from the Rhetorica ad Herennium, it meant the formulation of the point at issue, and in Cicero the definition of a term.^[2] In Cicero it meant the constitution, disposition of the body, fīrma corporis cōnstitūtiō, the organization of affairs, the permanent system of a state, a set of principles, the state of affairs, and a decision.^[2][7][8] In Vitruvius it meant physical arrangement, structure.^[2] From Livy it meant a decree, especially an imperial one, and in Quintilian convention as a source of law.^[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a constitution, establishment, foundation, structure, order, and a conciliar document.^[9] British Medieval Latin used it for creation and construction.^[10] It survives in Italian costituzione and French constitution, and Old French gave English constitution in the mid-14th century, “law, regulation, edict”.^[1][4]

Timeline

• 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium uses it of the point at issue.^[2][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of bodily constitution and of a state's system.^[2][6]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of a decree.^[2][6]
• mid-14th century – English constitution is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. Arrangement, structure; organization.^[2]
2. The system of a state, constitution; principles.^[2]
3. The state of affairs.^[2]
4. A decision; a decree, enactment.^[2]
5. (rhetoric) The point at issue; a definition.^[2]

Word family

• cōnstitūtiōnārius

Related words

• cōnstituō
• cōnstitūtor
• cōnstitūtōrius
• cōnstitūtum
• cōnstitūtus
• statuō
• English constitution

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
10. ^ 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