datus

datus¹ given

Forms

datus (feminine data, neuter datum); first/second-declension participle^[1]

Etymology

The participle is from Latin dō (“to give”), its perfect passive participle,^[2][1][3] continuing Proto-Italic *datos and Proto-Indo-European *dh₃-tó-.^[4] Its neuter is Faliscan datu in a Faliscan inscription, and the genitive Oscan δατας (datas) is found in Oscan.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan gives the participle ⟨datum⟩ for Old Latin;^[4] its earliest author is Plautus.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant given, offered, granted.^[1][2] From the closing formula of letters and charters, data or datum with a place and day, “given at …”, Medieval Latin made data a noun for the date of a letter or charter,^[6][7] the source of Old French and English date.^[7] Its neuter became the noun datum, “a gift”.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.^[5]
• early 14th century – English date is recorded, from Medieval Latin data.^[7]

Meanings

Participle

1. Given, offered, granted.^[2][1][3]
2. (Medieval Latin, feminine as noun) data, the date of a letter or charter.^[6]

Word family

• datum

datus² act of giving

Forms

datus m (genitive datūs); fourth declension^[1]

Etymology

The noun is from Latin dō (“to give”) + -tus, a fourth-declension noun of action.^[8][9][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found only once in Classical Latin, in Plautus' Trinummus (1140), in the ablative meo datu, “as my gift, from me”.^[4][9][10]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it meant a gift: the Old Latin Bible and the Vulgate of Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) use it, as in datus insipientis non est utilis tibi (“the gift of a fool will not profit you”, Sirach 20:14).^[11][9][10] A glossary renders it with Ancient Greek δόσις (dósis).^[9] An English charter of 955 uses it for a free gift of land.^[12]

Timeline

• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it in the ablative.^[9][5]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it for a gift.^[11][5]
• 955 – An English charter speaks of land given gratuito datu.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of giving.^[8][10][2]
2. (Late Latin) A gift.^{[11][10][1][12]}

Related words

• datiō
• dator
• dōs
• dōnum
• English date

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
3. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
4. ^ a b c d e 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 d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
10. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
11. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
12. ^ 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