Etymologically

conventionalis

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Forms

conventiōnālis (neuter conventiōnāle); third-declension two-termination adjective[1][2] Medieval texts often spell it ⟨convencionalis⟩.[3][4][5]

Etymology

It is from Latin conventiō (“agreement, compact”) + -ālis.[1][6][7][8] Köbler refers it further to conveniō (“to come together, agree”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a word of the jurists quoted in the Digest.[6][5] Pomponius divides stipulations into judicial, praetorian and conventional ones, those that arise from the agreement of the parties, and Ulpian says that in conventional stipulations the contracting parties give the contract its form.[6][2]

Semantic evolution

Justinian's Institutes repeat the definition, and a law of 530 in his Code speaks of pledges and mortgages made by agreement.[6] His Novels use the plural for written complaints,[6] and the libellus conventiōnālis, a written statement of claim, became a term of medieval procedure: the canonist Richard of Mores gives its form, “I, G., complain of E., who owes me a hundred…”.[9][3][10] Medieval charters also speak of litterae conventiōnālēs, written agreements, and of a poena conventiōnālis, a penalty fixed by contract.[3][4][9] In Hungary it could mean hired under contract,[4] and in Poland it was used of the Diet and of a day fixed for a meeting.[10] English conventional, first “of the nature of an agreement”, came from it in the late 15th century.[8]

Timeline

  • before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it of stipulations, as does Pomponius.[6][5]
  • 530 AD – A law in the Code of Justinian speaks of pledges by agreement.[6]
  • c. 533 AD – Justinian's Institutes define conventional stipulations.[6][5]
  • c. 1244 – A Hungarian charter mentions written agreements.[4]
  • 1274 – A Wetzlar charter fixes a contractual penalty.[3]
  • late 15th century – English conventional is recorded.[8]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Based on an agreement;[1][7][6][2][11] stipulātiō conventiōnālis: a stipulation made by agreement of the parties.[1][7][6][2][11]
  2. (Late Latin, Medieval Latin, law) libellus conventiōnālis: a written complaint, statement of claim.[6][9][3][10]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Fixed by a contract;[3][4][9] litterae conventiōnālēs: a written agreement.[3][4][9]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Bound by agreement; hired under contract.[9][4][12]
  5. (Medieval Latin, Poland) Of the Diet;[10] diēs conventiōnālis: a day fixed for a meeting.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
  5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  7. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ a b c d e f 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
  10. ^ a b c d e Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  11. ^ a b Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  12. ^ Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences