creatio

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [kreˈaː.ti.oː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [kreˈat.t͡si.o]^[1]

Forms

creātiō f (genitive creātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from creō “to create, beget, elect” with the suffix -tiō.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL says that apart from Cicero's De legibus it is not read before the Old Latin Bible and Papinian.^[3] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^[4]

Semantic evolution

It meant the election or appointment of an official, as in Cicero's laws, and the begetting of children, as liberōrum creātiō in the Digest, and Lewis and Short call it very rare.^[2][5][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant creation.^[7] Medieval Latin used it of the creation of the world and of a creature.^[8] British Medieval Latin used it of the founding of a city, as Rome.^[9] English creation came in the late 14th century through Old French, “the action of creating”.^[10] Wiktionary lists Romanian Crăciun among its descendants, beside Italian creazione and Spanish creación.^[1]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the election of officials.^[2][3][4]
• 533 AD – The Digest uses it of begetting.^[5][4]
• late 14th century – English creation is recorded.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. The election of an official.^[2]
2. The begetting of children.^[2]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The creation of the world; a creature.^[7][8]

Related words

• creābilis
• creāmen
• creātor
• creātrīx
• creātūra
• creō
• English creation

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com