Etymologically
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dispensatio

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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