Etymologically
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disertus

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [dɪˈsɛr.tʊs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [diˈs̬ɛr.tus][1]

Forms

disertus (feminine diserta, neuter disertum, superlative disertissimus); first/second-declension adjective[1]

Etymology

It is probably from ⟨dissertus⟩, the past participle of disserō (“to set out in words, discuss”), and de Vaan lists it among that verb's derivatives.[2][3][4] The TLL prefers a compound of dis- and artus (“tight, close”), with the meaning drawn towards ⟨disserō⟩;[5][1] Wiktionary suggests a back-formation from disertim (“plainly”).[5][1] De Vaan traces ⟨serō⟩ “to join” to Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to thread, tie together”), the root of Ancient Greek εἴρω (eírō, “to string together”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan gives Plautus as its first author.[3] In Terence's Eunuchus a man says he thought someone clever and well-spoken, callidum et disertum.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is skilled in speaking or writing, eloquent, and of speech or writings skilfully expressed: Cicero calls a history neither too halting nor perfectly polished.[2] Vitruvius uses it of sound, clear and distinct.[2]

Church Latin glosses it “eloquent, fluent”.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus.[3]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence of a well-spoken man.[2][4]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of well-written history.[2][4]
  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius of clear sound.[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Skilled in speaking, eloquent, fluent;[2][1][6] (of speech) well expressed.[2][1][6]
  2. Clear-sounding, distinct.[2]

Word family

  • disertim
  • disertitūdō
  • indisertus
  • perdisertus

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes disertus and fācundus, a natural gift for speaking, from ēloquēns, an art acquired by training: disertus speaks clearly and precisely, fācundus with grace and beauty;[7] Cicero reports Antonius as saying he had seen many disertī but no one truly ēloquēns.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  6. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper