dediticius

Forms

dēditīcius (feminine dēditīcia, neuter dēditīcium); first/second-declension adjective^[1] It is also spelt dēditius.^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin dēdō (“to give up, surrender”) + -īcius,^[3] made from the participle ⟨dēditus⟩;^[1] Lewis & Short and Köbler connect it with the noun dēditiō (“surrender”).^[2][4] dēdō is a compound of dē- and dō (“to give”), which de Vaan traces to Proto-Indo-European *di-d(e)h3- (“to give”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it first in Caesar,^[4] who uses it of the Belgae and other peoples who had surrendered to the Roman people.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective and, more often, as a noun it describes people who have surrendered unconditionally, such as captives,^[3][2] and Georges notes that the plural often meant Rome's subjects in Italy as opposed to its allies.^[6] Livy has quicquid deinde patiēmur, dēditīciī vestrī passūrī, “whatever we suffer from now on, we shall suffer as people who have surrendered to you”.^[2] Later it became a civil status:^[3] under the Lex Aelia Sentia, slaves who had suffered a degrading punishment became on manumission only “of the number of the dēditīciī”, as Gaius and Justinian's Institutes explain.^[2] Sulpicius Severus uses the feminine of a woman captive.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 50 BC – Caesar uses it of the Belgae and others.^[4][6]
• 86–34 BC – Sallust uses it.^[2][6][4]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy has dēditīciī vestrī.^[2][4]
• 140–180 AD – Gaius explains the status of dēditīciī.^[2][4]
• 528–534 AD – It appears in Justinian's Code.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Having surrendered at discretion.^[3][2][6]

Noun

1. One who has surrendered; a captive.^[2][1]
2. (law) A freed slave of the lowest civil status, ranked with surrendered enemies.^[3][2]

Related words

• dēdō
• dēditiō

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 j k l Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn