Etymologically
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dictionarius

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [dɪk.ti.oːˈnaː.ri.ʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [dik.t͡si.oˈnaː.ri.us][1]

Forms

dictiōnārius m (genitive dictiōnāriī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dictiō (“saying; speech”) + -ārius,[1] short for ⟨dictionarius liber⟩, a “book of words”.[2][3] The first part is a noun of action from dīcō2 (“to say”).[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest record is John of Garland's Dictionarius,[3] before 1250,[5] which explains its title: the little book is called dictionarius from the most necessary words (dictiones) that every scholar should keep not only in a wooden chest but in the cupboard of his heart.[2]

Semantic evolution

Later medieval book inventories list copies of a dictionarius, also spelled dixionarius,[2][5] and Polish and Bohemian sources use it for a dictionary or lexicon.[6][7] Renaissance humanists such as Decembrio, Thomas More and Erasmus still used the masculine, and by metonymy it could also mean the compiler of a dictionary.[8][2] A rare adjective, “of a dictionary”, appears in Sixtus of Siena.[8]

The neuter dictionarium became the commoner form, and it is the source of English dictionary.[3][1]

Timeline

  • before 1250 – John of Garland names his Dictionarius.[2][5]
  • 1396 – An inventory of Meaux lists a dictionarius.[2]
  • 1439 – An Oxford inventory lists the first part of a dictionarius.[2]
  • c. 1480 – A Polish record lists a dictionarius among books.[6]
  • c. 1495 – A Dictionarius pauperum for preachers is printed.[8]
  • 1501 – An Oxford college inventory spells it dixionarius.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) A dictionary, a word book.[2][1][7]
  2. (New Latin) The compiler of a dictionary.[8]

Adjective

  1. (New Latin) Of or like a dictionary.[8]

Usage notes

Thomas More writes that he brought no dictionarium aliquem except Hesychius and Dioscorides, an accusative of the masculine.[2][8] The neuter dictionarium has the same meaning.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  7. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d e f Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de