erroneus

Forms

errōneus (feminine errōnea, neuter errōneum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin errō (“wanderer, vagabond”) + -eus,^[2][1][3] a noun made from the verb errō (“to wander”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Seneca (4 BC–65 AD) pairs it with vagus “roving”,^[5][6] and the OLD's first citation is from Columella, in the 1st century AD, who says that watchdogs should stay at their post and not be given to wandering.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it meant “roving, straying”, of people and animals.^[2][5] Apuleius notes that the planets are wrongly called “wandering” stars.^[2]

In Late Latin it came to mean “mistaken, erroneous”,^[4][1] and medieval writers used it of false opinions and conduct as well as of wandering;^[7][8] Niermeyer records the sense “heretic”.^[9] Ecclesiastical Latin uses it for “wrong, erroneous”.^[10] English borrowed erroneous in the late 14th century, from Latin, partly through French.^[4]

Timeline

• 4 BC–65 AD – Seneca pairs it with vagus.^[5][6]
• 1st century AD – Columella uses it of dogs that wander off.^[2][6]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius applies it to the planets.^[2][6]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as erroneous.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Given to wandering, straying, vagrant.^[2][5]
2. Of planets: wandering.^[2]
3. (Late Latin) Mistaken, erroneous, false.^[1][10][8]
4. (Medieval Latin) Sinful; heretical; as a noun, a heretic.^[7][9]

Related words

• errō
• error

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
10. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson