docilitas

Forms

docilitās f (genitive docilitātis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin docilis (“teachable”) + -tās, from doceō (“to teach”).^[2][1][3] De Vaan traces ⟨doceō⟩ to Proto-Italic *dok-eje-, from Proto-Indo-European *doḱ-eye/o- (“to make someone accept something”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its earliest source is Cicero.^[5][6] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It meant aptness to learn, teachableness, docility, as in Cicero and Nepos, and in Eutropius gentleness, kindness.^[2][6][7]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant docility.^[8] British Medieval Latin used it for readiness to learn, as in rhetoric, where the audience was to be led to goodwill, docility and attention.^[9] English docility (1550s, “aptness to learn”) came through French docilité; it is also Italian docilità and Spanish docilidad.^[3][1]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it.^[6][5]
• 1550s – English docility is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Aptness to learn, docility.^[2][6]
2. Gentleness, kindness.^[7]

Related words

• docilis
• doceō
• English docility

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
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. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ 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