fortitudo

Forms

fortitūdō f (genitive fortitūdinis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin fortis (“strong, brave”) + -tūdō.^[2][1][3][4] De Vaan finds the origin of ⟨fortis⟩, older ⟨forctus⟩, undecided: it may be Proto-Italic *forkti/o- from Proto-Indo-European *bʰorǵʰ-to- (“stuffed”), like farciō (“to stuff”), or from a root “firm” seen in Indo-Iranian.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler gives Terence as its first author.^[6] In the Phormio a slave fears that such boldness will end in the stocks.^[2]

Semantic evolution

It is bodily strength, which Phaedrus' she-goats may boast of so long as they do not match the he-goats', and which Lewis and Short find very rare;^[2][7] Jerome uses it of the firmness of woven linen.^[2][7] Above all it is courage and fortitude, and in the plural deeds of courage.^[2]

Church Latin glosses it “strength, power, might, fortitude”.^[8] In Medieval Latin it is physical force, compulsion, an army (after Daniel), and of things firmness.^[9] English fortitude (late 14th century), first moral strength as a cardinal virtue, comes from it.^[4]

Timeline

• 190–159 BC – Terence of boldness.^[2][6]
• c. 15 BC–c. 50 AD – Phaedrus of physical strength.^[2][6]
• c. 383–419/420 AD – Jerome of the strength of cloth.^[7][6]
• late 14th century – English fortitude.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. Physical strength, vigour; firmness.^[2][1][7]
2. Courage, bravery, fortitude;^[2][1][8] (plural) brave deeds.^[2][1][8]
3. (Medieval Latin) Force, compulsion; an army.^[9]

Related words

• forticulus
• fortis
• fortiter
• virtūs
• English fortitude

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
7. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
9. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill