epilepticus

Forms

epilēpticus (feminine epilēptica, neuter epilēpticum); first/second-declension adjective^[1] Late spellings include epilempticus and epilenticus.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐπιληπτικός (epilēptikós, “epileptic”),^[4][5][6] from ἐπίληψις (epílēpsis, “seizure; epilepsy”), the noun of ἐπιλαμβάνω (epilambánō, “to seize”).^[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A passage of Ulpian in the Vatican Fragments names the epileptic among those who are excused,^[2] Calcidius speaks of an epileptic fall,^[8][5] and Firmicus Maternus uses it as a noun in his astrology,^[2][9][5] meaning a person suffering from epilepsy.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The native Latin name of the illness was morbus comitialis, so epileptica passio in Caelius Aurelianus is a medical loan term.^[8][9] Medical writers such as Marcellus glossed the epileptics as those “whom they call caduci”,^[2] and Pseudo-Apuleius equated them with the possessed.^[2]

Medieval writers used the adjective with morbus and passio for epilepsy and the noun for the patient;^[3][10] British sources have it from the 12th century.^[6] English epileptic came through French about 1600.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 300 AD – Calcidius speaks of an epileptic fall.^[8][5]
• 343/350 AD – Firmicus Maternus names epileptics among those born under certain stars.^[2][9][5]
• 5th century AD – Caelius Aurelianus uses epileptica passio for the disease.^[9][5]
• 538/539–594 AD – Gregory of Tours uses the form epilenticus.^[2][5]
• c. 1600 – English borrows epileptic through French.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Late Latin) Epileptic;^[4][8][9] epileptica passio, epilepsy.^[4][8][9]

Noun

1. (Late Latin) An epileptic.^[2][10][11]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
9. ^ a b c d e f Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
10. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
11. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson