Etymologically
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entitas

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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