consuetudinarius

Forms

cōnsuētūdinārius (feminine cōnsuētūdināria, neuter cōnsuētūdinārium, adverb cōnsuētūdināriē); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin cōnsuētūdō (“custom, habit”) + -ārius.^[1][2][3] The noun belongs with cōnsuēscō (“to become accustomed”), one of the compounds of suēscō, which de Vaan regards as older than the simple verb.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It appears around 400 in the Latin Didascalia apostolorum^[5][6] and in the Dialogues of Sulpicius Severus, who speaks of the usual time for dinner (consuetudinarium cenae tempus).^[5][7]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it meant “customary, usual” and was used of food, hours, duties and even sins that had become habitual;^[5][2] Sidonius applies it to a person, his regular letter-carrier.^[5][2] An adverb consuetudinarie “in the usual way” is found in Cassiodorus.^[2][5]

In Medieval Latin it took on the legal sense “based on custom”, as in ius consuetudinarium, customary law as opposed to written law,^[8][9] and was used of people and churches liable to customary dues.^[9][8] Used as a noun, it named such a dependent and a book containing the customs of a monastery.^[9][10] The MLW also records a medical sense, “chronic”.^[11] Italian consuetudinario comes from it.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 400 AD – It appears in the Latin Didascalia apostolorum^[5][6] and in Sulpicius Severus.^[5]
• 435/439 AD – Salvian speaks of customary meats (consuetudinarias carnes).^[5][2][6]
• c. 431–486 AD – Sidonius calls a letter-carrier consuetudinarius, “the usual one”.^[5][2][6]
• 529 AD – Benedict's Rule prescribes the customary canticles.^[5][6]
• c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses the adverb consuetudinarie.^[2][5][6]
• 1040–1078 – Charters use it as a noun for a dependent who owes customary dues.^[6][9]
• 1239–1256 – Bracton equates ius consuetudinarium with civil law.^[8][6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Customary, usual, habitual.^{[2][3][12][5]}
2. Of a person: the regular one, the usual (letter-carrier and the like).^[5][2]
3. (Medieval Latin, law) Based on custom: ius consuetudinarium, customary law.^[8][9]
4. (Medieval Latin) Relating to customs.^[9]
5. (Medieval Latin) Liable to customary dues.^[9][8]
6. (Medieval Latin, medicine) Chronic.^[11]

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) A dependent liable to customary dues.^[9][6]
2. (Medieval Latin) A book of a monastery's customs and rites, a customary.^[9][10]

Usage notes

Du Cange records a bilingual gloss that renders it by Ancient Greek φιλοσυνήθης (philosunḗthēs).^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
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 c d e f g h i j k l m 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 Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b c du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
11. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
12. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.