exalto

Forms

exaltō (present infinitive exaltāre, perfect active exaltāvī, supine exaltātum); first conjugation^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin ex- + altus with the verbal ending -ō.^[2][3] The adjective goes back to Proto-Italic *alto- (“high”), which de Vaan derives, with a question mark, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-to-.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Columella uses it of trenches dug deeper: sulcos … fodiunt et exaltant in tres pedes, “they dig trenches and deepen them to three feet”.^[2][5] The epitome of Festus by Paul the Deacon has buildings raised from the ground.^[6][3]

Semantic evolution

In inscriptions it means to raise or restore a structure, as boundary stones fallen through age.^[2][6] From Tertullian on it is above all a Christian word, and most of its uses are ecclesiastical:^[3] to lift up, and figuratively to exalt or glorify.^[5][7] The Itala's Gospel of Luke has qui humiliat se, exaltabitur, “whoever humbles himself will be exalted”.^[8] In the passive it was used of stars rising.^[8]

Medieval Latin also used it of raising the voice or a tone and of raising prices or dues.^[9] English took exalt, through Old French, in the sense “to raise in rank or honour” in the early 15th century.^[10]

Timeline

• 1st century AD – Columella uses it of deepening trenches.^[2][5]
• 161 AD – An inscription records boundary stones raised again.^[6]
• c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian uses it, and its common Christian use begins with him.^[3]
• 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it for lifting up and exalting.^[5][8]
• early 15th century – English exalt, from Old French, is used for raising in rank or honour.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. To raise, elevate (a building or other structure).^[2][5]
2. To deepen (a trench), extend downward.^[2][5]
3. (Late Latin, Ecclesiastical Latin) To lift up; to exalt, glorify, extol.^[5][7][8]
4. (Late Latin) In the passive, of stars: to rise.^[8]
5. (Medieval Latin) To raise (the voice; a price or due).^[9]

Word family

• exaltātiō
• superexaltō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
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 d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com