Etymologically
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facultas

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [faˈkʊɫ.taːs][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [faˈkul.tas][1]

Forms

facultās f (genitive facultātis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is a doublet of facilitās, from the stem of facilis “easy”, from Proto-Italic *fakelitāts.[2][1] Lewis and Short derive it from the old adverb facul “easily”, as difficultās beside difficilis.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Turpilius, of the 2nd century BC.[5] The OLD also cites Terence for the sense “ease”.[2]

Semantic evolution

It meant ability, power, capacity, skill, as Cicero's ease and abundance of speech, a particular faculty or talent, and of things a property or virtue.[2][4] It meant a possibility or opportunity, as in Caesar, a supply of something, and in the plural resources, means, property.[2] In Terence it meant easiness.[2]

In Medieval Latin it meant inherited property and a branch of study or department of learning.[6] It survives in French faculté, Italian facoltà and Spanish facultad.[1] English faculty came in the late 14th century, first meaning “ability, means”.[7]

Timeline

  • 2nd century BC – Turpilius uses it.[5]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence uses it of ease.[2][5]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of ability and resources.[2][5]
  • late 14th century – English faculty is recorded.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Ability, power, capacity, skill.[2]
  2. A particular faculty, (plural) talents.[2]
  3. (of things) A property, virtue.[2]
  4. An opportunity, possibility.[2]
  5. A supply, (plural) resources, means.[2]
  6. Ease, facility.[2]
  7. (Medieval Latin) A branch of study.[6]

Word family

  • facultatula

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com