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emphaticus

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word emphaticus

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 383–420 Jerome, a variant reading More words from the 4th century
Borrowed from
Ancient Greek ἐμφατικός
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek ἐμφατικός
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek φαίνω (phaínō)
Ancient Greek ἐμφαίνω (emphaínō)
Ancient Greek ἔμφασις (émphasis)
Latin emphasis
English emphasis
Ancient Greek ἐμφατικός (emphatikós)
Latin emphaticus
English emphatic
From the same root
Ancient Greek συκοφάντης (sūkophántēs) ← φαίνω
Ancient Greek φάσις (phásis) ← φαίνω
English epiphany ← φαίνω
English sycophant ← φαίνω
English emphasize ← emphasis

Forms

emphaticus, -a, -um; first and second declension[1][2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐμφατικός (emphatikós),[2][3][4] from ἐμφαίνω (emphaínō, “to make visible, show”).[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first possible instance is in a letter of Jerome (c. 383–419/420 AD), where some manuscripts read more emphatico and the others lymphatico;[6][1] the TLL brackets it and refers to lymphaticus.[6]

Semantic evolution

In medieval Latin it meant affirmative, emphatic or forceful, with the adverb emphatice “with emphasis”.[2][3] Albertus Magnus calls certain expressions emphatic and figurative, and so not to be taken further than they go.[2] British writers also used it for words that imply more than they state.[3] A Polish text of 1357 uses it of a brilliant light,[7] and the Czech lexicon also gives the senses “striking, clear” and “bold”.[8] English took emphatic from its Latin form in 1708.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 383–419/420 AD – A doubtful manuscript reading has it in a letter of Jerome.[6][1]
  • 13th century – Albertus Magnus speaks of emphatic expressions.[2][4]
  • 1357 – A Polish text uses it of a brilliant light.[7]
  • 1708 – English borrows it as emphatic.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (Medieval Latin) Emphatic, forceful, affirmative.[2][3][9]
  2. (Medieval Latin) Implying more than is stated.[3]
  3. (Medieval Latin) Brilliant, striking.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  2. ^ a b c d e f Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  6. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  7. ^ a b c Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Emphaticus.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/emphaticus. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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