futilitas

Forms

fūtilitās f (genitive fūtilitātis); third declension^[1] Also spelled futtilitās.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Latin fūtilis (“vain, worthless”) + -tās.^[2][1][4] The OLD takes fūtilis (also ⟨futtilis⟩) to be formed, apparently, on ⟨fut-⟩, the stem of fundō “to pour”, comparing fūtis (“water vessel”);^[2] de Vaan likewise lists fūtis under fundō.^[5] Of vessels, the adjective meant “brittle”,^[2] and Etymonline explains it as “pouring out easily”.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero uses it in De natura deorum (2.70), of worthlessness or emptiness.^[3][7][2]

Semantic evolution

It remained a rare word for uselessness, worthlessness and vanity.^[2][4] English futility comes from French futilité or directly from the Latin word,^[6] and Italian futilità from the Latin.^[8]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it in De natura deorum.^[3][7][9]
• 1620s – Borrowed into English as futility, from French or Latin.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. Uselessness, worthlessness, futility.^[2][1][7]
2. Vanity, emptiness.^[2][4]

Related words

• fūtilis
• English futility

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
4. ^ a b c Bianchi, Rossella; Lelli, Olga (2014), VOLI: Vocabolario di latino, Florence: Le Monnier
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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
8. ^ Conte, Gian Biagio; Pianezzola, Emilio; Ranucci, Giuliano (2010), il Latino: Vocabolario della lingua latina, 3rd ed., Florence: Le Monnier
9. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de