contemplatio

Forms

contemplātiō f (genitive contemplātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin contemplor (“to gaze at, observe”) + -tiō.^[2][1] The verb belongs to templum (“sacred precinct”),^[3] which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *t(e)mp-lo- and Proto-Indo-European *t(e)mp-lo-, probably from a root “to stretch”, hence “measuring”.^[3] Cognate with Lithuanian tem̃pti (“to pull, stretch”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Cicero,^[4] who says nothing rose from the earth that could block the view of the sky.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is the act of looking at or viewing, and in Pliny the Elder the taking of aim.^[2] Of the mind it is contemplation or study, as Cicero's “the study and contemplation of nature is a kind of natural food for minds”.^[2] In Ulpian and other jurists it is a taking into account, and the ablative with a genitive means “in consideration of”.^[2] Church Latin glosses it “contemplation”,^[5] and Köbler records it in medieval law codes, charters and Thomas Aquinas.^[4] English contemplation “religious musing” is from about 1200, from Old French and directly from the Latin word.^[6]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero of viewing the sky and of the study of nature.^[2][4]
• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder of taking aim.^[2][4]
• before 223 AD – Ulpian of taking into account.^[2][4]
• c. 1200 – Borrowed into English as contemplation.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of looking at, view, survey; the taking of aim.^[2][7][1]
2. Contemplation, consideration, study.^[2][7][5][1]
3. A taking into account; in the ablative, in consideration of.^[2]

Related words

• contemplor
• templum

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press