dispensatio

Forms

dispēnsātiō f (genitive dispēnsātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dispēnsō (“to weigh out, manage”) + -tiō.^[2][3][4][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Cicero,^[5] who uses it of the management of the public treasury (aerāriī dispēnsātiō) and of the office of a royal treasurer.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it was the work of a dispēnsātor, a steward: the sharing out of scarce supplies in Livy, the economical use of materials in Vitruvius, the handling of someone's affairs in Cicero's letters, and the office of steward itself.^[2][3][6] Pliny the Elder uses it of the careful measure needed in taking honeycombs.^[3]

Tertullian used it for what Greek theology called the oeconomia, the divine plan,^[4] and the Vulgate for the stewardship entrusted to Paul.^[3] Medieval Latin applied it to the giving of grace or mercy, the administering of a sacrament, divine providence and arrangement in general.^[7] In canon law it became a relaxation of the law in a particular case, granted by the lawgiver or a superior.^[8] British medieval Latin used it also for the distribution of alms and the preaching of the word.^[9]

English dispensation was borrowed in the late 14th century, both for dealing out and for a relaxation of the law, partly through Old French.^[10]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of managing the treasury.^[3][6][5]
• 59 BC–17 AD – Livy uses it of sharing out scarce supplies.^[2][5]
• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of the economical use of materials.^[2][5]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian equates it with the theological oeconomia.^[4][5]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of Paul's stewardship.^[3][5]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as dispensation.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. Distribution, apportioning; economical use (of materials).^[2][3]
2. Administration, management, superintendence.^[2][3]
3. The office of a steward or treasurer, stewardship.^[2][3]
4. (Ecclesiastical Latin) The divine plan or providence, the economy of salvation.^[4][7]
5. (Medieval Latin) The bestowing (of grace) or administering (of a sacrament).^[7]
6. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A dispensation, a relaxation of the law in a particular case.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ 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
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com