Etymologically
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erratum

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ɛrˈraː.tũː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [erˈraː.tum][1]

Forms

errātum n (genitive errātī); second declension[1]

Etymology

It is the neuter of errātus, perfect participle of errō “to wander, err”, used as a noun.[2][3] De Vaan traces ⟨errō⟩ to Proto-Italic *ers-āje-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ers- (“erring”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Plautus, of a moral lapse.[2] Köbler dates Plautus c. 250–184 BC.[5]

Semantic evolution

It was an error in thought or action, a mistake, as in the Rhetorica ad Herennium and Cicero, and a moral error, lapse, as in Plautus.[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it was a mistake, error.[7] English erratum (1580s, plural errata) came to mean an error in writing or printing.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it.[2][5]
  • 86/82 BC – the Rhetorica ad Herennium uses it.[2][5]
  • 1580s – English erratum is recorded.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An error, mistake.[2]
  2. A moral lapse.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  7. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson