Etymologically
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educator

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [eː.dʊˈkaː.tɔr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [e.duˈkaː.tor][1]

Forms

ēducātor m (genitive ēducātōris, feminine ēducātrīx); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ēducō2 (“to bring up, rear”) + -tor.[2][1] De Vaan lists that verb among the derivatives of dūcō (“to lead”), from Plautus on.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler records it first in Cicero,[4] who uses it in the speech for Plancius of a foster-father.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

The OLD defines it as one who nurtures or brings up children, especially a foster-father, and Georges glosses it as a rearer in Cicero.[2][7] Seneca the Elder uses it in a declamation on a man who brought up exposed children, and Quintilian also has it.[8][5] In Seneca and Tacitus it means a tutor or pedagogue, as in Tacitus' educator praeceptorque; the Digest has the same sense.[5][7] In Ecclesiastical Latin it means tutor, teacher, educator.[9] Medieval British writers use it of a nurturer or trainer: Neckam tells of a dog that guarded its educator.[10] English borrowed it in the 1560s in the sense “one who nourishes or rears”; by the 1670s it also meant one who trains or instructs.[11]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of a foster-father.[5][4]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian has it.[5][6]
  • 98–115 AD – Tacitus uses it of tutors.[5][4]
  • 1560s – English borrows it as educator, “one who nourishes or rears”.[11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. One who nurtures or brings up children; especially a foster-father.[2][5]
  2. A tutor, pedagogue.[5][7]
  3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) A teacher, educator.[9]
  • ēducātrīx
  • English educator

Usage notes

The feminine is ēducātrīx.[1][9] Etymonline notes that the Latin feminine meant a nurse.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  8. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  9. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  10. ^ 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 c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com