exhaustio

Forms

exhaustiō f (genitive exhaustiōnis); third declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin exhauriō (“to draw out, drain, exhaust”) + -tiō.^[3][1] The verb is formed from ex- and hauriō (“to draw, scoop up”),^[1] which de Vaan traces to Proto-Italic *aus-je- and Proto-Indo-European *h₂eus-ie/o- (“to scoop”).^[4] He adds that the initial ⟨h⟩ of the verb may be hypercorrect.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Augustine, in his work against Faustus, uses it for the emptying of a vessel, as the opposite of a filling up.^[3][1] Paulinus of Nola, of about the same time, uses it for the clearing away of rubble.^[3][1][5] Servius has it in his commentary on the Georgics, in a sense that Georges and Gaffiot take as completion,^[1][2] and the TLL and Conte as endurance.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

The TLL divides its Late Latin uses into a bodily sense, the emptying of a vessel or the removal of something solid, and an abstract one, the enduring of hardship.^[3] Conte gives the senses “removal” and “endurance”, citing Paulinus of Nola for the first and Servius and Jerome's commentary on Micah for the second.^[6]

In Medieval Latin it came to mean consumption and spending: William of Malmesbury writes of a household reduced to want because constant spending was not made good by any income.^[7] The MLW records it for destruction and desolation,^[8] and Polish records use it for the exhausting of bodies and of a ducal treasury.^[9]

Timeline

• 354–430 AD – Augustine uses it for the emptying of a vessel.^[3][1][5]
• c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome uses it for enduring, in his commentary on Micah.^[6][5]
• c. 400 AD – Servius uses it in his commentary on the Georgics.^[1][3][5]
• 1369 – A Polish account book speaks of the total exhaustion of bodies and goods in God's service.^[9]
• 1640s – English exhaustion is first used of fatigue.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. The emptying or draining of something, as of a vessel.^[3][1][2]
2. The clearing away or removal of material, such as rubble.^[3][1][6]
3. Completion, the finishing of a task.^[1][2][11]
4. Endurance, the bearing of hardship.^[3][6]
5. (Medieval Latin) Consumption, spending.^[7][9]
6. (Medieval Latin) Destruction, desolation.^[8]

Related words

• exhauriō
• English exhaustion

Usage notes

Du Cange quotes Servius' own remark that the word is harsh if used in verse.^[12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
2. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d e Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b c Lexicon mediae et infimae Latinitatis Polonorum (1953–), Kraków: Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN; electronic ed. elexicon.scriptores.pl
10. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ VoLat: Vocabolario della Lingua Latina (2018), Milan: Hoepli
12. ^ du Cange, Charles du Fresne, et al. (1883–1887), Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis, augmented ed. by Léopold Favre, Niort: L. Favre