Etymologically
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glorifico

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɡɫoːˈrɪ.fɪ.koː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ɡloˈriː.fi.ko][1]

Forms

glōrificō (present infinitive glōrificāre, perfect active glōrificāvī, supine glōrificātum); first conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin glōria (“glory”) + -ficō,[2][3][4] the second part going back to faciō (“to make”).[2][4] Lewis & Short and Georges derive it from the adjective glōrificus (“glorious”).[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is a Christian word, first found in Tertullian (c. 160–220 AD), in his treatise on idolatry, for glorifying God.[3][5][7]

Semantic evolution

In the Vulgate it renders the biblical “glorify”, in the passive “be glorified”.[5] Fulgentius of Ruspe defined it as making glorious, and Jerome and Augustine noted that glōrificāre and clārificāre render one and the same Greek verb; the two are often confused in manuscripts.[2]

Medieval Latin used it widely: to honour or reward a person, to praise and celebrate, to further or exalt a church, to adorn, to raise someone to eternal glory or transfigure, and reflexively to win fame or to boast.[8] English glorify came from it through Old French.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 160–220 AD – Tertullian speaks of glorifying God.[3][5][7]
  • 348/49–c. 413 AD – Prudentius uses it.[5][7]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it in Exodus, in the active and the passive.[5][7]
  • early 8th century – Bede writes of honouring a king with earthly honours.[8][7]
  • mid-14th century – English takes glorify from Old French, ultimately from this verb.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (Ecclesiastical Latin) To glorify, extol (God).[5][3][9]
  2. (passive) To be glorified.[5]
  3. (Medieval Latin) To honour, distinguish or reward (a person).[8]
  4. (Medieval Latin) To praise, celebrate; to exalt or enrich (a church).[8]
  5. (Medieval Latin) To raise to eternal glory, transfigure.[8]
  6. (Medieval Latin, reflexive) To win fame; to boast.[8]

Word family

  • conglōrificō
  • glōrificātiō

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  3. ^ a b c d Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
  7. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  8. ^ a b c d e f Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  9. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson