deletio

Forms

dēlētiō f (genitive dēlētiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin dēleō + -tiō.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Lucilius has it, in a line preserved by Nonius, of the annihilation of an army to the last man (deletionem nostri ad unum exercitus).^[3][4][2]

Semantic evolution

The Old Latin Bible uses it in Exodus, where the Vulgate has only the verb, and Cassian has it too;^[4] glossaries explain it as pernicies “ruin”.^[4] In medieval Latin it was the blotting out of sins or of names from the book of life,^[5][6] and in legal writing the striking out of an entry or an erasure in writing.^[7] English deletion (1580s) comes from it.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 180–102 BC – Lucilius uses it of the destruction of an army.^[2][4][9]
• beginning of the 3rd century–258 AD – Cyprian quotes the Old Latin Exodus with it.^[4][9]
• c. 360–c. 435 AD – Cassian uses it.^[4][9]
• 839/842 – A letter speaks of the blotting out of sins.^[5]
• 1514 – A Hungarian document uses it for destruction.^[10]
• 1580s – English deletion appears.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. destruction, annihilation.^[2][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) A blotting out, cancelling (of sins, of names); erasure.^[5][6]
3. (Medieval Latin, law) The striking out of an entry in a court record.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b 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
7. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
10. ^ Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE