Etymologically
Log in

dictionarium

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 05:40. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [dɪk.ti.oːˈnaː.ri.ũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [dik.t͡si.oˈnaː.ri.um][1]

Forms

dictiōnārium n (genitive dictiōnāriī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dictiō (“saying, word”) + -ārium,[1] the neuter of dictiōnārius.[1] Etymonline takes it to be probably a shortening of the phrase ⟨dictionarius liber⟩, “book of words”.[2] The first part is a noun of action from dīcō2 (“to say”),[3][2] which goes back to Proto-Indo-European *deyḱ- (“to show”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it as early as the 9th century,[4] in the sense of a dictionary;[2] Etymonline reports that the medieval word is said to have been first used by John of Garland as the title of a Latin vocabulary of about 1220.[2]

Semantic evolution

The word became the usual Renaissance name for a dictionary.[1] In 1497 Aldus said that the Greek lexika could be called dictionaria in Latin, and it appears in book titles such as Dictionarium iuris civilis et canonici (1481).[5] The masculine dictionarius was used in the same sense.[6][7]

It passed into the Romance languages and English as a learned word: Middle English dixionare, French dictionnaire, Italian dizionario and Catalan diccionari.[1] English dictionary dates from the 1520s.[2]

Timeline

  • 9th century – Köbler's earliest record.[4]
  • c. 1220 – John of Garland is said to have used the word for the title of a Latin vocabulary.[2]
  • 1481 – A printed Dictionarium iuris civilis et canonici appears.[5]
  • 1497 – Aldus equates it with Greek lexika.[5]
  • 1519 – Brunfels writes of a Hebrew dictionarium.[5]
  • 1520s – English borrows it as dictionary.[2]
  • 1538 – A Kraków print is titled Dictionarium trilingue.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin, New Latin) A dictionary, lexicon.[1][5][6][8]

Usage notes

Some medieval and Renaissance texts use the masculine dictiōnārius instead; the eLexicon Polonorum treats both under one head.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
  6. ^ a b c d Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  7. ^ Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences
  8. ^ Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE