Etymologically

corporatio

Etymology and origin of the Latin word corporatio

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Tertullian
Ultimate origin
Latin (corpus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [kɔr.pɔˈraː.ti.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [kor.poˈrat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

corporātiō f (genitive corporātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin corporō (“to make into a body”) + -tiō,[2][1] from corpus “body”.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tertullian, in On the Flesh of Christ, uses it of the taking on of a body.[5][6] Köbler dates Tertullian c. 160–220 AD.[3]

Semantic evolution

In Tertullian it was the assumption of a body, the incarnation, and Martianus Capella uses it too.[5] The OLD takes it as physical make-up or build, and Georges and Gaffiot as bodily nature.[2][7][6] Medieval writers used it of the incarnation of Christ.[8]

In 15th-century British Latin it meant the incorporation of a town and a corporate body, as in Norwich records of 1442.[9] English corporation is recorded in the mid-15th century, from this Anglo-Latin use, for persons united in a body.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it of the incarnation.[5][3]
  • 1442 – Norwich records use it of a town's incorporation.[9]
  • mid-15th century – English corporation is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Physical make-up, bodily nature.[2][7]
  2. (Late Latin) The taking on of a body, incarnation.[5][1]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Incorporation; a corporation, corporate body.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  9. ^ a b c 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
Cite this entry

“Corporatio.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/corporatio. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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