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discrepantia

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word discrepantia

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
81–43 BC Cicero More words from the 1st century BC
Ultimate origin
Latin discrepō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin discrepantia
English discrepancy

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [dɪs.krɛˈpan.ti.a][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [dis.kreˈpan.t͡si.a][1]

Forms

discrepantia f (genitive discrepantiae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin discrepāns + -ia, from the present participle of discrepō (“to differ in sound, disagree”).[2][3][1] The verb is a compound of dis- and crepō (“to make a sharp loud noise”),[4][5] which de Vaan traces to Proto-Indo-European *ḱrep- “to rattle, crackle”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Cicero, of the discordance between the letter of a text and its intention.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Lewis and Short call it “a Ciceronian word”: Cicero used it of disagreement in substance rather than in words, and of inconsistency between one's actions.[7][2] Vitruvius applied it to the difference of tastes between waters.[2] Medieval writers used it of difference in general, of disunity and, in music, of dissonance.[8] English took it over as discrepancy in the mid-15th century.[5]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of discordance and difference.[2][6]
  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius speaks of the difference of tastes.[2][6]
  • mid-15th century – English borrows it as discrepancy.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Difference, discrepancy, discordance.[2][7]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Disunity, discord.[8]
  3. (Medieval Latin, music) Dissonance.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  7. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
Cite this entry

“Discrepantia.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/discrepantia. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·