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decisio

Etymology and origin of the Latin word decisio

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Cicero
Ultimate origin
Latin (caedō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [deːˈkiː.si.oː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [deˈt͡ʃiː.s̬i.o][1]

Forms

dēcīsiō f (genitive dēcīsiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from dēcīdō “to cut off, settle” with the suffix -tiō.[2][1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL dates it from Cicero, and the OLD's earliest citation is from Cicero, of a settlement.[3][2] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

In Cicero it meant a settlement, agreement, the deciding of a disputed matter, and Lewis and Short call it frequent in good prose in this sense.[2][6][7] In Apuleius it meant a lessening, curtailment.[2][7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant a settlement, agreement, decision, a lessening, and in canon law an act resolving a dispute.[8] Medieval Latin used it for a judicial sentence.[9] It survives in Italian decisione and French décision, and Old French gave English decision in the mid-15th century.[1][4]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a settlement.[2][5]
  • c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of a lessening.[2][5]
  • mid-15th century – English decision is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A lessening.[2]
  2. A settlement, decision.[2]
  3. (Medieval Latin) A judicial sentence.[9]

References

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

“Decisio.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/decisio. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·