donatio

Forms

dōnātiō f (genitive dōnātiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin dōnō (“to give, present”) + -tiō.^[2][1][3] De Vaan derives dōnō from dōnum (“gift”), which he traces to Proto-Italic *dōno- (“gift”) and Proto-Indo-European *deh₃-no- (“gift”) (or *doh₃-no-), comparing Oscan dunúm (“gift”) and Sanskrit दान (dā́na-, “gift, present”).^[4] The jurist Paulus says it was named from giving a gift, and Isidore explains it as the action of a gift.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL and Köbler find it first in Cicero,^[3][5] who uses it in the Philippics and the Verrines.^[6]

Semantic evolution

It is the act of giving a present, a donation, and the gift itself.^[2][6] In law dōnātiō mortis causā is a gift that takes effect only on the giver's death but, unlike a legacy, cannot be revoked in his lifetime, as in Ulpian.^[2] Justinian's Institutes have a title on donations.^[6] In medieval Latin it is also a deed of gift, an investiture and the symbol of an investiture, and the right to confer a benefice.^[7] Köbler records it in charters from 625.^[5] English donation (mid-15th century) came from donacion and directly from Latin.^[8]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero.^[3][6][5]
• 625 – in charters.^[5]
• mid-15th century – English donation.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of giving, a donation, gift.^[2][6][1][9]
2. (law) dōnātiō mortis causā, a gift made in anticipation of death.^[2]
3. (Medieval Latin) A deed of gift; an investiture; the right to confer a benefice.^[7]

Related words

• dō
• dōnātīvum
• dōnō
• dōnum
• English donation

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
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 d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson