decimalis

Forms

decimālis (neuter decimāle); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin decimus + -ālis.^[1][2] Its medieval senses all concern the tithe, decima.^[3][4] The adjective decimus (“tenth”) is itself from decem (“ten”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's earliest record is a charter of 960.^[2] In medieval charters it means belonging to the tithe: the MLW cites a charter of Conrad III that declares a place free of every tithe right (ab omni iure decimali).^[3]

Semantic evolution

Medieval Latin used it of what was collected as a tithe, of land and produce liable to the tithe, and of those entitled to levy it;^[6][3] the neuter decimale named produce from which a tithe was due.^[6] A Hungarian charter of 1229 speaks of vineyards owing the tithe,^[7] and in England a grangia decimalis or horreum decimale was a tithe barn.^[8] British sources also used homo decimalis for a tithingman and applied the word to the royal subsidy of a tenth,^[8] and in Poland a decimalis lignorum was a unit of ten logs of floated timber.^[4]

Wiktionary also records the sense “decimal”.^[1] English took it over as decimal about 1600, first meaning “pertaining to a tenth or ten”; the modern sense of decimal fractions followed in the 1610s.^[5]

Timeline

• 960 – A charter is Köbler's earliest record.^[2]
• c. 1115 – The Leges Henrici use it as a noun for a person entitled to tithes or collecting them.^[2]
• 1229 – A Hungarian charter mentions vineyards liable to the tithe.^[7]
• 1236 – An English record uses it of what is paid as tithe.^[8]
• c. 1600 – English borrows it as decimal.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Medieval Latin) Of or relating to the tithe; collected as a tithe.^[6][3][8]
2. (Medieval Latin) Liable to the tithe.^[3][8]
3. (Medieval Latin) Entitled to levy the tithe.^[6][3]
4. (Medieval Latin) Relating to the royal subsidy of a tenth.^[8]
5. (Medieval Latin) decimal.^[1]

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) A person entitled to tithes or collecting them;^[2][8] homo decimalis, a tithingman.^[2][8]
2. (Medieval Latin) In the neuter, decimale: produce from which a tithe is due.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d e f Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c d e Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
8. ^ a b c d e f g h 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