Etymologically
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distincte

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Forms

distinctē (comparative distinctius, superlative distinctissimē)[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin distinctus (“distinct”) + -ē,[1] the adverb of the participle of distinguō (“to separate, distinguish”).[3][2] De Vaan explains that verb as ⟨dis-⟩ with a root meaning “to push”, so “to push apart, mark off”, from Proto-Italic *ste-n-gʷ-e/o- and Proto-Indo-European *stengʷ-e/o- (“to push, thrust”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero uses it first,[3] for speaking “articulately and distinctly” (articulātim distīnctēque dīcere).[2]

Semantic evolution

Its main sense is “clearly, distinctly”, of speaking, writing and marking out;[1][2] it also means “so as to tell one thing from another”, as when Pliny the Younger says he has treated certain matters distinctly and step by step.[1] In Cicero it can also praise a style of speaking that is elegant and well ordered.[2] The comparative is in Pliny the Younger, and the superlative in Cassiodorus.[2]

British medieval writers used it of things set out with their parts clearly distinguished, and of distinct articulation.[5]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of clear and elegant speaking.[2][3]
  • c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus uses the superlative.[2][3]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Clearly, distinctly.[1][2]
  2. So as to distinguish one thing from another.[1]
  3. In an elegant, well-ordered way.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  5. ^ 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