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extemporalis

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word extemporalis

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
before 66 AD, Petronius
Ultimate origin
Latin tempus

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɛk.stɛm.pɔˈraː.lɪs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ek.stem.poˈraː.lis][1]

Forms

extemporālis (neuter extemporāle, adverb extemporāliter); third-declension two-termination adjective[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin ex tempore (“on the spur of the moment”) + -ālis,[1][2] the phrase being made of ex (“out of”) and tempus (“time”).[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is post-Augustan.[2] Seneca the Elder speaks of an extemporalis facultas, the ability to speak without preparation.[5][6]

Semantic evolution

It belonged above all to rhetoric: Quintilian uses it of unprepared speeches, pleadings and fluency, and Pliny the Younger of figures of speech;[2][3] where Cicero would have said subitus or fortuitus, later writers used this word.[2] Of a person it meant able to speak extempore, as of a rhetor in Martial.[7][2]

Outside rhetoric Lactantius uses it of food that is quickly provided.[2][3] The adverb extemporāliter is found in Sidonius Apollinaris.[2]

Timeline

  • before 66 AD – Petronius speaks of an improvised declamation.[3][4]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it often of unprepared speaking.[2][4]
  • 40–102/103 AD – Martial calls a rhetor extemporalis.[2][4]
  • c. 75–c. 150 AD – Suetonius mentions a gift for speaking extempore.[2][8][4]
  • c. 250–317 AD – Lactantius uses it of food quickly provided.[2][3][4]
  • c. 431–486 AD – Sidonius Apollinaris uses the adverb extemporāliter.[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Unpremeditated, extempore, improvised.[7][2]
  2. Of a person: speaking extempore, able to improvise.[7][2]
  3. Made ready on the spot, easily provided.[2][3]

Word family

  • extemporālitas
  • extemporāliter
  • extemporaneus
  • tempus

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
  6. ^ VoLat: Vocabolario della Lingua Latina (2018), Milan: Hoepli
  7. ^ a b c Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
Cite this entry

“Extemporalis.” Etymologically, 24 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/extemporalis. Accessed 24 Oct. 2026.

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