fruitio

Forms

fruitiō f (genitive fruitiōnis); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin fruor (“to enjoy”) + -tiō.^[2][1] The verb goes back to Proto-Italic *frūg-je/o- and Proto-Indo-European *bʰruHg-ie/o- (“to use”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL's earliest examples are in the Latin translation of Irenaeus (“fruitio boni”, the enjoyment of the good)^[2] and in Jerome, who uses it of the delight people take in one another's presence.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Augustine speaks of dei fruitio, the enjoyment of God,^[2] and the phrase fruitio Dei became the term for the beatific vision in Medieval Latin.^[5] In the law of the Middle Ages it meant the use or possession of property, close to usufruct,^[6][5][7] and in scholastic philosophy Thomas Aquinas set fruitio, the enjoyment of an end loved for its own sake, against usus, the use of a means.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 383–419/420 – Jerome uses it of the pleasure of one another's company.^[2][4]
• 354–430 – Augustine writes of the enjoyment of God.^[2][4]
• 1219 – An imperial constitution uses it of the possession of estates.^[6]
• 1259–1265 – Thomas Aquinas uses it in the Summa contra Gentiles.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. Enjoyment, delight.^[9][2][10]
2. (Medieval Latin) Use, possession of property; usufruct.^[6][5][7]
3. (Ecclesiastical Latin) fruitio Dei: the beatific vision.^[5]
4. (scholastic philosophy) The enjoyment of something loved as a final end, as opposed to its use.^[8]

Related words

• English fruition

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
3. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
4. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b c d Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
6. ^ a b c Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
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 c Schütz, Ludwig (1895), Thomas-Lexikon, 2nd ed., Paderborn: F. Schöningh
9. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson