demonstratio

Forms

dēmōnstrātiō f (genitive dēmōnstrātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dēmōnstrō (“to point out, show”) + -tiō, formed on the stem of the supine ⟨dēmōnstrātum⟩.^[2][3][1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from the Rhetorica ad Herennium on;^[3] Köbler's first source is Cicero,^[5] who uses it of pointing something out, as with a finger.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The TLL notes that the word was always in use but is missing in the poets and in Livy, Sallust and Tacitus, while rhetoricians, grammarians, jurists and Christian writers use it often.^[3] In law it is the pointing out of boundaries or of an estate before a sale, and in the formula of a civil action the part that names the matter at issue, as Gaius explains.^[2] From pointing out it came to mean a description or definition, an exposition, and the demonstrative or epideictic kind of oratory, which Cicero names beside deliberative speech.^[2] Wiktionary also gives the sense of proof, and Ecclesiastical Latin that of demonstration.^[1][7]

Medieval writers used it for showing and displaying in general,^[8][9] and for the inspection of boundaries, dikes and canals, and for a verdict;^[10][8] British sources add a display of wares, a dramatic performance and a muster of troops.^[9] Through Old French and directly from Latin it gave English demonstration, first in the sense of a proof.^[4]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of pointing out, of description and of epideictic oratory.^[2][5]
• c. 100–45 BC – Nigidius Figulus uses it of what a word indicates.^[2][5]
• 140–180 AD – Gaius defines it as a part of the formula in a lawsuit.^[2][5]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as ⟨demonstracioun⟩ “proof”.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of pointing out or showing;^[2][6] (law) the pointing out of boundaries or an estate before transfer.^[2][6]
2. A description or definition; the indication or identification of something.^[2][7]
3. (law) The part of a legal formula that names the matter at issue.^[2]
4. An exposition, explanation.^[2]
5. (rhetoric) The epideictic or demonstrative kind of oratory.^[2]
6. A proof, demonstration.^[1][7]
7. (Medieval Latin) An inspection of dikes and canals; a verdict.^[10]
8. (Medieval Latin) A display of wares; a muster of troops.^[9]

Related words

• monstrum
• English demonstration

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c 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 d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b 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. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill