Etymologically
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destinatus

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Forms

dēstinātus (feminine dēstināta, neuter dēstinātum); first/second-declension adjective[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin dēstinō (“to fix, determine”), its perfect participle used as an adjective.[1][2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Catullus,[4] who tells himself dēstinātus obdūrā, “hold out, resolved”.[2][5][6]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective it kept the sense of the verb, “fixed, determined”: Cicero uses it in the sense “fixed, resolved”,[2] and Horace of the bounds fixed by Orcus.[6] Of people it meant firm in a purpose, and so stubborn or obstinate, the only sense the OLD gives it.[1][5][3]

The neuter and feminine were also used as nouns (see Usage notes).[2][5]

Timeline

  • 81/79–52/50 BC – Catullus uses dēstinātus of firm resolve.[4][2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it in the sense “fixed, resolved”.[2][4]
  • 65–8 BC – Horace speaks of the bounds fixed by Orcus.[6][4]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses the neuter plural dēstināta for plans.[2][5][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Fixed, determined, settled.[2][6]
  2. Resolute, firm; stubborn, obstinate.[1][5][3]

Usage notes

As a noun, the neuter dēstinātum meant a target, as in Livy and Curtius,[5][3] and an intention or plan, as in Tacitus' antequam dēstināta compōnam, “before I set out my chosen subject”;[5][2] ex dēstinātō meant “on purpose” in Seneca and Suetonius.[2][5] Suetonius has the feminine dēstināta for a woman betrothed to someone.[2] Conte and VOLI warn that the word should not be rendered with Italian destinato.[5][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  3. ^ a b c d e Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
  4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T. (1890), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: American Book Company