eminentia

Forms

ēminentia f (genitive ēminentiae); first declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin ēminēns + -ia,^[2] from ēminēns (“standing out, prominent”), the present participle of ēmineō (“to stick out, protrude”),^[2][3] which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *(eks-)men-ē- (“to stick out”) and Proto-Indo-European *m(e)n-eh₁-, the root he also sees in mōns (“mountain”) and minae (“threats; protruding parts of a wall”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero (81–43 BC) is its first user: in De natura deorum he argues that if gods exist only for thought, they have no solidity and no eminentia, no standing out.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense was the quality of standing out, and concretely a protuberance on the body, as in Scribonius Largus.^[2] In painting it named the prominent, lit parts of a picture, as opposed to the shadows.^[2][5] Figuratively it meant pre-eminence or excellence: Velleius Paterculus speaks of the highest achievement in each art as confined within narrow limits of time.^[2][5] The phrase per eminentiam meant “par excellence”.^[5]

In medieval Latin eminentia vestra was a title of honour,^[6] and in Ecclesiastical Latin it became the title of a cardinal.^[7] Medieval writers also used it for a height or high place, a summit, and in medicine for a prolapse or swelling.^[8][9] English took it over as eminence about 1400.^[3]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for standing out and for the lit parts of a picture.^[2][10]
• c. 20 BC–30 AD – Velleius Paterculus uses it for pre-eminence in an art.^[2][10]
• c. 47 AD – Scribonius Largus uses it of swellings on the body.^[2][10]
• c. 1400 – English borrows it as eminence.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The quality of standing out or projecting.^[2][5]
2. A protuberance, a swelling on the body.^[2][5]
3. (painting) The prominent, lit part of a picture, the foreground.^[2][5]
4. Superiority, pre-eminence, excellence.^[2][5]
5. (Medieval Latin) A height, high place; summit.^[8][9]
6. (Medieval Latin) A title of honour (eminentia vestra);^[6] (Ecclesiastical Latin) the title of a cardinal.^[7]

Related words

• emineo
• English eminence

Usage notes

Per eminentiam (“by way of eminence”) translated the Greek κατʼ ἐξοχήν, “par excellence”.^[5]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
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 f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b 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
10. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de