Etymologically
Log in

entitas

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the Latin word entitas

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1220–1235, Robert Grosseteste
Ultimate origin
Latin ēns
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin sum
French soit
Italian essere
Latin ens
Latin entitas
From the same root
Latin absum ← sum
Latin adsum ← sum
Latin desum ← sum
Latin forsit ← sum
Latin insum ← sum
Latin intersum ← sum
Latin possum ← sum
Latin prosum ← sum
Latin subsum ← sum
Latin supersum ← sum

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈɛn.tɪ.taːs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈɛn.ti.tas][1]

Forms

entitās f (genitive entitātis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ēns (“being”) + -tās,[1][2][3] formed like essentia.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler and the DMLBS find it first in Robert Grosseteste, who writes that the entity of each thing is its truth.[4][5]

Semantic evolution

Albert the Great uses it for the being or nature of a thing, which he finds in matter and form;[2] Thomas Aquinas for the character of being by which a thing can be said to exist.[6] Duns Scotus and his followers distinguish an entitas realis from an entitas rationis, a being only in the mind.[5] Niermeyer glosses it “entity”.[7]

English entity appears in the 1590s for “being”;[3][4][5] Etymonline calls the Latin word Late Latin, although the medieval dictionaries find it only from the 13th century.[3][4][5]

Timeline

  • 1220–1235 – Robert Grosseteste.[5][4]
  • 13th century – Albert the Great, “being, nature”.[2][4]
  • 3rd quarter of the 13th century – Thomas Aquinas.[6][4]
  • 1590s – English entity.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin, philosophy) entity, a being.[5][7][1]
  2. (Medieval Latin, philosophy) The being or essence of a thing, its nature.[2][5][6]
  3. (Medieval Latin, logic) entitas rationis, a being of reason, as opposed to entitas realis.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
  6. ^ a b c Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
  7. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
Cite this entry

“Entitas.” Etymologically, 23 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/entitas. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·