domesticatus

Forms

domesticātus m (genitive domesticātūs); fourth declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It is from Latin domesticus, in the sense of an officer of the imperial household, and means the rank of these officers.^[2][1] The adjective, “of the household”, is itself derived from domus (“house”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest record is in the Novellae of Theodosius, of the first half of the 5th century AD,^[4] where a law speaks of someone who rises from the ranks named before to the office of domesticatus without being entitled to it.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Late Latin it was the office and rank of the princeps domesticorum, the chief of the household troops: Cassiodorus says that the primiceriatus is also called domesticatus.^[2][5][1] Gregory of Tours writes of a man who began his military career in this office.^[2]

In medieval Latin it became the office of a domesticus of the royal palace, as in the Life of Arnulf,^[6][7] and also the office of majordomo.^[7] The MLW also records it for the royal household as a body, in the 11th-century Anonymus Haserensis.^[6]

Timeline

• first half of the 5th century AD – The Novellae of Theodosius use it for the rank of the domestici.^[2][4]
• c. 485–c. 580 AD – Cassiodorus equates it with the primiceriatus.^[2][5][4]
• 538/539–594 AD – Gregory of Tours uses it in his History of the Franks.^[2][4]
• first half of the 7th century – The Life of Arnulf uses it for the office of the palace domesticus.^[6][4]
• c. 1075 – The Anonymus Haserensis uses it for the royal household.^[6][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Late Latin) The office and rank of the princeps domesticorum, chief of the imperial household guard, also called primiceriatus.^[5][1][2]
2. (Medieval Latin) The office of a domesticus at a royal palace; the office of majordomo, mayor of the palace.^[7][6]
3. (Medieval Latin) The royal household.^[6]

Usage notes

Du Cange notes the same word in Byzantine Greek, Ancient Greek δομεστικάτον (domestikáton), in Anna Comnena.^[8] The medieval Latin of Hungary also has an adjective domesticātus “tamed, domesticated”, used of a bird that is well tamed.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
7. ^ a b c Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre
9. ^ Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE