Etymologically
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fusio

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈfuː.si.oː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈfuː.s̬i.o][1]

Forms

fūsiō f (genitive fūsiōnis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin fundō1 (“to pour”) + -tiō, built on ⟨fūs-⟩, the stem of the supine and participle;[2][1] Wiktionary explains the /s/ and the long vowel by Lachmann's law or by the perfect ⟨fūdī⟩.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero (81–43 BC)[3] uses it in De natura deorum for the pouring or flowing of water, which shows that heat is mixed with it: ipse liquor aquae declarat et fusio.[2]

Semantic evolution

In the same work Cicero has it for an outpouring: Chrysippus, he says, called the world god and the universal outpouring of its soul.[2][4] Vitruvius used it for a sprinkling of stars,[2][4] and in Roman law it was a contribution in kind owed to the treasury.[2] Lewis and Short also give the melting and casting of metal, and Ambrose has it for shedding blood.[4]

In Medieval Latin it was a pouring, and above all the casting of molten metal and the smelting of ore.[5] Ecclesiastical Latin also used it for a fusion or merger.[6] English fusion (1550s, “melting by heat”) is from French or directly from the Latin.[7]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it for the flowing of water and for an outpouring.[2][3]
  • c. 84–c. 25 BC – Vitruvius uses it of a sprinkling of stars.[2][3]
  • before 223 AD – Ulpian uses it for a contribution in kind to the treasury.[2][3]
  • c. 340–397 AD – Ambrose writes of the shedding of blood.[4][3]
  • 1284 – A British account pays for the casting of bronze.[5]
  • 1550s – English borrows it as fusion.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A pouring, the action of flowing.[2]
  2. An outpouring, effusion; a sprinkling (of stars).[2][4]
  3. (law) A contribution in kind due to the treasury.[2]
  4. A melting, casting of metal.[4][5]
  5. (Medieval Latin) The smelting of ore.[5]
  6. (Ecclesiastical Latin) Fusion, merger.[6]

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b c d e f Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com