Etymologically
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diversitas

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [dɪˈwɛr.sɪ.tas][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [diˈvɛr.si.tas][1]

Forms

dīversitās f (genitive dīversitātis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from dīversus “different” with the suffix -tās.[2][1][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL says it is first found in the two Senecas, and the OLD's earliest citation is from Seneca.[3][2] Köbler's first source is Cicero; he dates Seneca 4 BC–65 AD.[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant being apart, distance, as in Seneca, and in Pliny the Elder difference, diversity, variety, as in Quintilian.[2][6] In Pliny it meant disagreement, and in Seneca inconsistency, and in Tacitus contradiction.[2][6] Lewis and Short call it post-Augustan.[7] Isidore uses it of the variety of garments.[8]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant diversity, disagreement.[9] British Medieval Latin used it for difference and variety.[10] It survives in Italian diversità and French diversité, and English diversity came in the mid-14th century, “variety”.[1][4]

Timeline

  • 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca uses it of distance and difference.[2][5]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of diversity.[2][5]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of contradiction.[6][5]
  • mid-14th century – English diversity is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Separateness, distance.[2]
  2. Difference, diversity, variety.[2]
  3. Disagreement; inconsistency.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Isidore of Seville, Etymologiarum sive Originum libri XX, ed. W. M. Lindsay (Oxford, 1911).
  9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  10. ^ 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