ecliptica

Forms

eclīptica f (genitive eclīpticae); first declension^[1] Pliny the Elder has the neuter plural ecliptica (genitive eclipticōrum).^[2]

Etymology

It is from Latin eclīpticus (“of eclipses”), used as a noun;^[2][3] the feminine stands for the phrase with līnea (“line”).^[3][4] The adjective is from Ancient Greek ἐκλειπτικός (ekleiptikós, “of an eclipse”).^[2][4] The line was so called because eclipses happen only when the Moon is near it.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pliny the Elder (23/24–79 AD) uses the neuter plural ecliptica for the points in the middle of the planets' latitudes, the nodes of their orbits.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In medieval astronomy the feminine ecliptica, alone or with linea, named the apparent yearly path of the Sun and planets through the sky.^[6][3][5] Sacrobosco explains that the Sun always runs beneath it and that an eclipse occurs when Sun and Moon are both beneath it.^[3] English took ecliptic from the medieval Latin word in the late 14th century.^[4]

Timeline

• 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses the neuter plural for the nodes of a planet's orbit.^[2][5]
• 13th century – Albertus Magnus uses the feminine noun for the Sun's path.^[5][6]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as ecliptic.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (astronomy, neuter plural) The nodes of a planet's orbit.^[2]
2. (Medieval Latin, astronomy) The ecliptic, the apparent yearly path of the Sun among the stars.^[1][6][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e 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
4. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl