distinguibilis

Forms

distinguibilis (neuter distinguibile); third-declension adjective^[1][2]

Etymology

It is a medieval derivative from Latin distinguō (“to separate, distinguish”).^[3][4] Köbler also records the negative ⟨indistinguibilis⟩.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in Albertus Magnus in the 13th century, who uses it of what can be divided or told apart, for instance whether the soul of a married person differs from that of an unmarried one.^[1][3]

Semantic evolution

In scholastic philosophy it meant “divisible” and “distinguishable”, and also “determinable”;^[1] Albertus Magnus uses the neuter as a noun beside determinabile, of what a genus signifies before the differentia defines it.^[1] The medieval Latin of Bohemia and Poland has it too, the Polish dictionary quoting it from a logic textbook.^[5][4]

Neo-Latin writers kept it: Johannes Amerbach writes of books that could be divided into chapters, and Francisco Suárez of an accident that can be distinguished and separated from every other entity.^[2]

Timeline

• 13th century – Albertus Magnus uses it in his philosophical works.^[1][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Medieval Latin) divisible, that can be divided up.^[1][3]
2. (Medieval Latin) distinguishable, that can be told apart.^[1][5][2]
3. (Medieval Latin, philosophy) Determinable.^[1][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
2. ^ a b c Ramminger, Johann, Neulateinische Wortliste: Ein Wörterbuch des Lateinischen von Petrarca bis 1700, www.neulatein.de
3. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
5. ^ a b Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences