expositio

Forms

expositiō f (genitive expositiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin expōnō (“to set out, expose”) + -tiō.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest text with it is the Rhetorica ad Herennium, which speaks of the statement of arguments.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it meant a statement or description, a narration of the facts in a speech, and an explanation or definition: Cicero speaks of three definitions of the highest good.^[2][5] From Seneca the Elder on it was also used for the exposing of an infant.^[2][5] Theodorus Priscianus uses it for the emptying of the bowels.^[6][7]

In Christian and medieval Latin it was used for the interpretation of a text, an exegesis or commentary.^[8][9][10] Medieval documents also use it for pawning,^[8] for exposure to danger, and for the exhibition of the Host.^[11]

Timeline

• 86/82 BC – The Rhetorica ad Herennium speaks of setting out arguments.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for a narration and for a definition.^[5][4]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it for the narration of the facts.^[5][4]
• c. 1400 – Statutes of Lincoln mention the solemnity of the exhibition of the Host.^[11]

Meanings

Noun

1. The exposing of a child.^[2][5]
2. A statement, description; a narration or setting forth.^[2][5]
3. An explanation, a definition.^[5]
4. (Late Latin) The emptying of the bowels.^[6][7]
5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Interpretation of a text, exegesis, commentary.^[8][9][10]
6. (Medieval Latin) Pawning.^[8]
7. (Medieval Latin) Exposure to danger, risk.^[11]
8. (Medieval Latin) The exhibition of the Host.^[11]

Word family

• expositiuncula

References

1. ^ 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. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
7. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
9. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
10. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
11. ^ a b c d 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