Etymologically
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dissimulatio

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [dɪs.sɪ.mʊˈɫaː.ti.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [dis.si.muˈlat.t͡si.o][1]

Forms

dissimulātiō f (genitive dissimulātiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dissimulō (“to dissemble, conceal”) + -tiō.[2][3][1] The OLD derives dissimulō from dis- and simulō (“to imitate, pretend”), Wiktionary from dissimilis (“unlike”).[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler dates it from Cicero,[4] who in the Verrines speaks of wickedness and boldness not even hidden by dissimulation.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is the concealment of one's real purpose or feelings, often in Cicero, Quintilian and Tacitus, who has someone disguised in a slave's clothes for concealment.[2][5] Cicero also uses it for Socratic irony, the urbane pretence of saying one thing while meaning another.[2][5] In Tacitus it is pretended ignorance or deliberate disregard: “among the bad there was ready mutiny, among the honest connivance”.[2] In Medieval Latin it means carelessness or indifference, and hesitation or delay.[6] English dissimulation (late 14th century) comes from Old French and directly from Latin.[7]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of concealment and of Socratic irony.[2][4]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it.[5][4]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus of pretended ignorance.[2][4]
  • late 14th century – English dissimulation is formed from it, partly through Old French.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Concealment of one's real purpose or feelings, dissimulation, disguise.[2][5][1]
  2. Socratic irony.[2][5]
  3. Pretended ignorance, deliberate disregard, connivance.[2]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Carelessness, indifference; hesitation, delay.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com