differentialis

Forms

differentiālis (neuter differentiāle); third-declension two-termination adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin differentia (“difference”) + -ālis,^[1][2][3] a Medieval Latin formation.^[2][3] differentia comes from differō (“to differ”), a compound of dis- and ferō (“to carry”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates its first record, in Gunther, to the 11th century;^[2] there it qualifies an ambiguous phrase whose sense the reader is asked to examine, “containing a difference”.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The general sense “distinguishing, marking a difference” appears in insignia that a prince had laid aside.^[4] In scholastic logic it described the forms that are added to a genus to make up a species, as in Otto of Freising and Albertus Magnus,^[4] and Wyclif uses it of forms distinguished by specific difference.^[5] In music the tonus differentialis was the closing formula of a psalm tone after the Gloria Patri, which leads into the antiphon.^[4][2] As a neuter noun it meant a distinguishing mark.^[4]

English took the word as differential in the 1640s, and the mathematical noun and differential calculus followed in the early 18th century.^[3]

Timeline

• 11th century – Gunther uses it of an ambiguous phrase.^[2][4]
• 1157–1158 – Otto of Freising uses it in logic of differentiating forms.^[2][4]
• 1272–1304 – Hieronymus de Moravia describes the tonus differentialis.^[2][4]
• 1640s – English borrows it as differential.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Medieval Latin) Containing or marking a difference; distinguishing.^[4][2]
2. (Medieval Latin, logic) Differential, constituting the specific difference.^[4][5][6]
3. (Medieval Latin, music) tonus differentiālis: the closing formula of a psalm tone.^[4][2]
4. (Medieval Latin) Of verses that illustrate the difference between words of like form.^[5]

Noun

1. (Medieval Latin) A distinguishing mark.^[4]

Related words

• differentia
• differo
• English differential

Usage notes

Medieval spellings include differencialis.^[2][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ 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
6. ^ Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl