Etymologically
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donativum

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [doː.naːˈtiː.wũː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [do.naˈtiː.vum][1]

Forms

dōnātīvum n (genitive dōnātīvī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is the neuter, used as a noun, of an adjective from Latin dōnō (“to give, present”) + -īvus.[2][1][3] De Vaan derives dōnō from dōnum “gift”.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL and Köbler find it from Tacitus on.[3][5]

Semantic evolution

It is a sum of money given by the emperor to each soldier on an occasion of public rejoicing, at his accession or majority or another special occasion;[2][6] Tacitus and Suetonius use it, and it is contrasted with the congiarium given to the people.[2][6] Wiktionary notes a rare use for a gratuity to soldiers at a triumph in the Republic, and a Church Latin sense of a gift.[1] Köbler finds it in a charter of 912.[5] English donative as a noun, “a gift”, dates from the mid-15th century.[7]

Timeline

  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus.[3][6][5]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius.[6][5]
  • 912 – in a charter.[5]
  • mid-15th century – English donative, a gift.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A donative, a gratuity given by the emperor to each soldier.[2][6][1]
  2. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A gift.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c 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 e 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com