depretio

Forms

dēpretiō (present infinitive dēpretiāre, perfect active dēpretiāvī, supine dēpretiātum); first conjugation^[1] It is also spelled dēpreciō.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin dē- (“down”) + pretium (“price”) + -ō.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Gaius' Institutes, of slaves whose value has fallen,^[5][6] in the sense “lower in value”.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The legal sense, of property or slaves that had lost value, recurs in the jurist Paul.^[5][2] Tertullian used it often in the figurative sense “belittle, make light of”, as of Epicurus, who set little value on pain;^[5][2] the Old Latin Bible and Ambrose used it for “disgrace, dishonour”.^[5]

Medieval writers kept both the literal “lower the value of” and the senses “disparage” and “despise”.^[3] English formed depreciate from its participle in the mid-15th century.^[7]

Timeline

• 140–180 AD – Gaius uses it of slaves whose value has been lowered.^[5][6]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it in the sense “make light of”.^[5][6]
• 1st half of the 3rd century AD – The jurist Paul uses it of property that has lost value.^[5][6]
• c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose pairs it with dehonestatus “dishonoured”.^[5][6]
• 11th century – Peter Damian writes of glass whose fragile nature lowers its worth.^[3][6]
• mid-15th century – English depreciate is formed from its past participle.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To lower the value or price of, depreciate.^[4][2]
2. (Late Latin) To make light of, belittle, disparage.^[2][5][3]
3. (Late Latin) To dishonour, disgrace.^[5][3]
4. (Medieval Latin) To despise.^[3]

Word family

• depretiator

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
6. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com