decoratio

Forms

decorātiō f (genitive decorātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin decorō (“to adorn, decorate”) + -tiō,^[1][2][3] itself from decus (“ornament, honour”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler lists Tertullian (c. 160–220 AD) as its first source, but the TLL brackets that passage as corrupt.^[5][2] The first sure use is in Eustathius' translation of Basil's Hexaemeron (c. 400 AD), meaning “adornment”: he speaks of the adornment of all intelligible things.^[2][3][6][5]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it meant both the act of adorning and an ornament.^[2] Du Cange cites it from Augustine in the sense of “adornment”.^[7] In Medieval Latin it was used for the decorating and furnishing of churches and palaces, as in the cloths and vestments for the adornment of a chapel,^[8][7][9] and figuratively for an honour or distinction.^[8] English decoration comes from it.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 400 AD – Eustathius uses it in the sense “adornment”.^[2][3][5]
• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it for adornment.^[7][5]
• c. 1238 – Grosseteste uses it of preparing a house to receive a king.^[9]
• 1376 – An inventory of the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris lists ornaments for the adornment of the chapel.^[7]
• early 15th century – English borrows it as decoration.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. Adornment, decoration; an ornament.^{[2][3][10][11]}
2. (Medieval Latin) The decorating and furnishing of a building.^[8][9]
3. (Medieval Latin) An honour, a distinction.^[8]

Related words

• decor
• English decoration

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c d du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
8. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ 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
10. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
11. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson