damnatio

Forms

damnātiō f (genitive damnātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from damnō (“to condemn”) with the suffix -tiō.^[2][1] The verb is from damnum (“loss, penalty”), which de Vaan derives from Proto-Italic *dapno- and Proto-Indo-European *dʰh₂p-no- (“expense, investment”), and connects with daps (“sacrificial meal”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives the Rhetorica ad Herennium as its first source,^[4] which speaks of a defence without which not even a small doubt can delay condemnation.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is condemnation in a court of law, as in Cicero, who joins it with ignōminia.^[2][5] In the law of wills it is the binding of an heir to do something, the legacy per damnātiōnem with the formula hērēs meus Stichum servum meum dare damnās estō, “let my heir be bound to give my slave Stichus”, in Gaius.^[2] It is also an adverse judgement on things, as Pliny the Elder's herb held poisonous in Sardinia.^[2]

In Christian Latin it is damnation,^[6][1][7] and in medieval Latin also a wrong or detriment.^[7] Köbler finds it in the capitularies, councils, law codes and Thomas Aquinas.^[4]

Timeline

• 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium of condemnation in court.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero.^[5][4]
• 140–180 AD – Gaius on legacies per damnātiōnem.^[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. Condemnation (in a court of law); an adverse judgement.^[2][5][1][6]
2. (law) The binding of an heir under a will.^[2]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Damnation.^[6][1][7]
4. (Medieval Latin) A wrong, detriment.^[7]

Related words

• damnō
• damnum
• condemnō
• damnōsus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ 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 c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill