dissertatio

Forms

dissertātiō f (genitive dissertātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dissertō (“to discuss, argue”) with the suffix -tiō,^[1][2][3] although the OLD derives it directly from disserō² (“to set out in words, discuss”).^[4] De Vaan lists disserō among the compounds of serō² (“to link, join”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Aulus Gellius uses it, in the plural, for the discourses of Epictetus: dissertationum Epicteti … primum librum “the first book of the Discourses of Epictetus”.^[4][6][3] Festus cites it from Cato (in dissertatione consulatus).^[4][7]

Semantic evolution

Lewis & Short stress that it meant a spoken discourse or disquisition, not a written treatise, and they class it as late Latin.^[6] The TLL divides it into a treatment or disputation of a subject, used by Gellius, Chalcidius, Rufinus, Augustine and Macrobius, and a speech held to teach.^[2]

The English word dissertation first meant a discussion or debate; the sense “written treatise” followed.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 165 AD – Gellius speaks of the discourses of Epictetus.^[4][3]
• c. 300 AD – Chalcidius uses it in his commentary for a treatment of a subject.^[2][3]
• first half of the 5th century AD – Macrobius uses it for a discussion.^[2][3]
• 1610s – Borrowed into English as dissertation, “discussion, debate”.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A dissertation, disquisition; a spoken discourse or discussion of a subject.^[4][6][9]
2. A treatment or disputation of a question.^[2]
3. A speech or lecture given to instruct.^[2][9]

Usage notes

Lewis & Short compare disputātiō and note that at Pliny the Elder 10.190 the right reading is edissertatio.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn