ductio

Forms

ductiō f (genitive ductiōnis); third declension^[1] Medieval spellings include ⟨duccio⟩, ⟨dutio⟩ and ⟨duxio⟩.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is from Latin dūcō (“to lead”) + -tiō.^[5][1][6] The glossaries explain it as “from leading”.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Vitruvius is the first to use it, of the conveying of water: he speaks of aquārum ductiōnēs, and of houses that have their own conduits from the sources.^[5][7][2]

Semantic evolution

Vitruvius also uses it of the pulling of ropes: a rope wound round and drawn in straight pulls, and a battering ram worked by pulling and slackening its cables.^[5][7] Celsus has ductiō alvī, the purging of the bowels by an enema.^[5][8] The jurists use it of the right to draw water from a river^[5][7] and, in Ulpian, of the iūs ductiōnis, the right to lead away a person in one's power.^[5][6][9]

In Medieval Latin it covered many kinds of leading and carrying.^[3] An imperial act of 1186 uses it of channels of streams;^[3] English and Scottish records use it of escorting prisoners, of towing the king's great ship, and of carting hay, corn and turf;^[10] Hungarian and Polish accounts use it for the transport of water, building materials, wood and sand.^[4][11] It also meant guidance,^[4] spiritual uplift,^[10] and in mathematics multiplication.^[3][12]

Timeline

• c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of the conveying of water and the pulling of ropes.^[5][2]
• 14–37 AD – Celsus uses ductiō alvī of purging the bowels.^[5][2]
• before 223 AD – Ulpian speaks of the right of leading a person away.^[5][2]
• 1186 – An imperial act uses it of channels of streams.^[3]
• 1299 – An English record uses it of escorting prisoners.^[10]
• 1329 – Scottish exchequer accounts use it of towing the king's great ship.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. The conveying of water; a conduit; the right of drawing off water.^[5][6][9][3]
2. (law) The leading away of a person in one's power;^[5][8][6] iūs ductiōnis: the right of arrest.^[5][8][6]
3. The pulling or hauling of a rope.^[5][6]
4. ductiō alvī: the purging of the bowels with an enema.^[5][8][9]
5. (Medieval Latin) Transport, carriage, cartage; towing.^{[10][3][4][11]}
6. (Medieval Latin) Guidance; escort, especially of prisoners.^[10][3][4]
7. (Medieval Latin, mathematics) Multiplication.^[3][12]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d e Bartal, Antal, et al. (1987–), Lexicon Latinitatis Medii Aevi Hungariae, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online ed. ELTE
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b c d e f 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
11. ^ a b Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
12. ^ a b Latinitatis medii aevi lexicon Bohemorum / Slovník středověké latiny v českých zemích (1977–), Prague: Academia; electronic version, Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences