Etymologically
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dediticius

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [deː.dɪˈtiː.ki.ʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [de.diˈtiː.t͡ʃi.us][1]

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]

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