creatrix

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [kreˈaː.triːks]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [kreˈaː.triks]^[1]

Forms

creātrīx f (genitive creātrīcis, masculine creātor); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin creō (“to create”) + -trīx, the feminine of creātor.^[2][3][1] De Vaan reconstructs ⟨creō⟩ as Proto-Italic *krē-jā-.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest source is Lucretius, nātūra creātrīx “nature the creatress”.^[3][5][6] Köbler dates Lucretius 96–55 BC.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Poetic, it meant she who brings forth, a mother, as in Virgil; the creatress of the world, as nature in Lucretius; and the authoress of a situation.^[2][3][5]

British Medieval Latin used it for a progenitress, figuratively, and in philosophy and theology for a creatress, creative.^[7]

Timeline

• 96–55 BC – Lucretius uses it of nature.^[3][6]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses it of a mother.^[5][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A mother.^[2]
2. A creatress (of the world); an authoress (of a situation).^[2]

Related words

• creābilis
• creāmen
• creātiō
• creātor
• creātūra
• creō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
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 Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ 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